


Lone Wolf

by heytorchhead



Series: The Yoichiro Route [4]
Category: Camp Buddy (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Humor, M/M, Romance, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:07:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29425740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heytorchhead/pseuds/heytorchhead
Summary: While Hiro is back in the capital, Yoichi hangs out with Taiga and Natsumi, counting down the days until they will be reunited at Christmas.
Relationships: Hiro Akiba/Yoichi Yukimura, Keitaro Nagame/Taiga Akatora, Natsumi Hamasaki/Hunter Springfield
Series: The Yoichiro Route [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938982
Comments: 20
Kudos: 20





	1. Boys' Night In

It was go time.

Mr Perfect barked, once, to signal that the coast was clear. Yoichi crept along the outside wall of the building containing the Scoutmasters' offices, keeping low and moving as stealthily as possible. He could practically hear the _Mission: Impossible_ theme playing in his head. Reaching the door, he gave a quick glance around to make sure no one could see him. Satisfied, he opened the door and entered the building.

He knew there should be no one around at this time of night. Still, it would be typical of his luck for Sir Goro to make an unannounced visit right when Yoichi didn't want him to.

He reached Yoshinori's office and tried the door. Locked. Fortunately, Yoichi had the key.

He was just getting it out of his pocket when Mr Perfect barked twice. _Shit!_ Yoichi thought. Two barks meant someone was coming. He didn't have much time. Quick as he could, he unlocked the door to Brokeback's office and went inside. The laptop was sitting on Brokeback's desk. Yoichi grabbed it and was searching for the charger when Mr Perfect barked again, warning him that whoever it was, they were coming closer. Yoichi's heart was pounding. How much trouble he was in would depend on who the intruder was. If it was Brokeback, Yoichi was fairly sure he could talk his way out of it.

Gramps would be another story.

Yoichi spied the charger, sitting on a filing cabinet against the far wall. He grabbed it and raced for the door, almost tripping over the lead on his way. He was halfway along the corridor before he remembered to go back, close the office door and lock it behind him.

Mr Perfect barked again. Yoichi heard a voice speaking to the dog, but it wasn't clear enough for him to make out either the words or the speaker's identity.

Yoichi waited, hiding in the shadows, holding the laptop close to his chest. Whoever it was, they didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. They also didn't seem like they were going to enter the office building, either, which was fortunate. But he couldn't hide in the corridor forever. The longer he waited, the greater the chances someone would discover him where he wasn't supposed to be, holding something he wasn't supposed to touch.

Yoichi made a decision. He stowed the laptop and charger behind a nearby plant pot, hidden safely out of sight. Then, assuming an innocent and carefree appearance, the walked casually out of the building to see who was waiting for him outside.

“Huh? Oh, Yoichi! You startled me!”

“Natsumi?!”

Yoichi's surprise was genuine. Natsumi, who had once been a regular fixture at Camp Buddy throughout the year, had been increasingly absent of late. It started when his older brother had arrived on the scene, impressing everyone and quickly getting the job of scoutmaster, something Natsumi himself had coveted for years. After that, there had been an incident in which Natsumi had gone slightly off the rails, even going so far as to vandalise the scoutmasters' offices. Yoichi and Hiro had helped cover the incident up, saving Natsumi's reputation, but his visits had been even more rare since then. The last time Yoichi had seen him was when he'd agreed to babysit the pups for a few days as thanks. Yoichi didn't exactly consider him a friend, in fact for most of their relationship Natsumi had been a daily annoyance. He'd come to feel some sympathy for the guy since then, but that was as far as it went. Their personalities were too different for them to ever be on good terms.

Natsumi had been stooped over, petting the pup who was named after him. He looked a little the worse for wear, Yoichi suddenly realised. His normally impeccable appearance was slightly rumpled, his clothes not as neatly pressed as they usually were. His hair was a little longer and a little less tidy than Yoichi was used to seeing it. He was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes.

“What're you doing here?” Yoichi asked. It came out sounding more like an accusation than he'd intended.

“Oh, I just came to see what chores needed doing around the camp,” Natsumi said. He seemed distracted, distant. He smiled, trying to be casual. The effect was oddly eerie. “I've been neglecting my duties of late, I'm afraid. I can't even remember the last time I did a litter sweep of the grounds!”

Yoichi frowned. The last thing he needed was Natsumi having another breakdown and interrupting his plans for the night. He needed to get rid of him, quickly.

“Yeah, well, you shouldn't have bothered,” Yoichi said. “Everything's fine. Place is spotless.”

Natsumi looked uncertain. “It is?” he asked.

Yoichi nodded. “Yeah. Dynamite's been keeping things in good order while you've been away. I've been helping out a little, too.”

“You have?”

“They usually don't give me a lot of choice.”

“Oh. I see. Well, that's still a lot of chores for just two people! I'm sure there are some things -”

“It's not just the two of us,” Yoichi cut in.

Natsumi stopped dead. A pained expression surfaced on his face. Yoichi saw him struggle to suppress it.

“I see. Naoto's been helping too, has he?” Natsumi asked, looking at the ground.

“Yeah. He's pretty capable.” Somehow, Yoichi felt bad for saying it. Yet what was he supposed to do, lie? Natsumi's brother had done a lot around Camp Buddy since his arrival. There was no point sugar-coating it. Natsumi needed to face reality.

“So … they don't need me?” Natsumi asked, looking at the ground. “At all?”

Mr Perfect whined and licked Natsumi's hand. Natsumi absently scratched the pup behind his ears. Yoichi was grateful the dog was better at consoling people than he was.

“Look, man,” Yoichi said, “why don't you take some time off? Go relax, have some fun. You're free now! You don't gotta waste your life cleaning up other people's messes any more.”

Natsumi nodded. “Yeah,” he said unenthusiastically. “I guess you're right.”

Yoichi was searching his mind for something else to say when his cell phone beeped in his pocket. The noise reminded him of what he'd been doing before Natsumi's arrival. He pulled out his phone and checked the notification: a message from Hiro.

[i'm ready and waiting, wolfboy] the message said. [what's taking you so long?]

_Crap!_ Yoichi thought. _I gotta go! Now!_

“Listen, I gotta -” Yoichi began.

“Yes, no, I understand,” Natsumi said briskly. “I'll just – I'll go now. See you around, Yoichi.”

Yoichi felt a stab of guilt as he watched Natsumi walk off across the camp-grounds. He looked so lost and alone. Mr Perfect whined, glancing between Yoichi and Natsumi.

“Don't give me that look,” Yoichi told the dog. “I got my own problems. He's a big boy. He'll be fine.”

Mr Perfect woofed in disagreement.

Once Natsumi was out of sight, Yoichi ducked back into the building to retrieve the laptop. Keeping an eye out for any more unexpected arrivals, he dashed across the grounds to Cabin One, doing his best to hide the laptop under his shirt. Once he and Mr Perfect were safely inside the cabin he closed the door behind him and leaned against it, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Mission accomplished.

His phone beeped again. Another message from Hiro. This time it was a picture.

It took some time to load, and Yoichi cursed the weak signal around Camp Buddy. He only hoped the connection would be good enough for what he had planned tonight.

The picture loaded.

Though there was no face in the picture, Yoichi would've known who the body belonged to instantly. He'd explored every inch of it over the past few months. Mostly with his tongue.

Hiro was holding up his t-shirt, exposing his chest and tummy to the camera. The baby fat he'd gained recently had mostly melted away again, leaving his stomach as flat as when Yoichi had first met him. Yoichi stared at the picture and felt his dick start to come to life inside his underwear.

Another message came through from Hiro, startling him out of his reverie.

[look! My diet's working!] Hiro said.

Yoichi had to agree.

Another message: [i'm waiiitiiiiinng :) :) :)]

Yoichi threw the phone on the bed and started setting up the laptop on the cabin's desk. He logged on, using the password he'd stolen from Yoshinori's office, then signed into the camp's newly-installed wifi, using the password he'd stolen from the crazy lady's desk.

He watched the computer struggle to make a connection, praying it would work.

It did.

“YES!” Yoichi cried, pumping his fist in the air and startling Mr Perfect. “We have fucking lift-off!”

Yoichi calmed himself and tried to find the AceTime app. He didn't have much experience with technology, but Hiro had sent him screenshots of what he was supposed to look for. Unfortunately, the layout of Brokeback's laptop was a little confusing to him. Everything was neatly ordered in labelled folders, but most of it seemed to be spreadsheets and financial records related to the running of the camp. There were no games, no memes, nothing that looked remotely fun. Even the desktop background was one of the default landscapes. Seemed like Brokeback's computer was as dull as he was.

Another text came.

[WOLFBOY!!] Hiro sent. [HURRY!! UP!!!!!]

A second picture accompanied this text. This time it was a selfie. Hiro was pouting into the camera, looking deliberately forlorn and abandoned.

_Fuck_ he was cute.

Yoichi started opening folders at random. He opened one named “tax records”, but it seemed to be mostly pictures. Momentarily curious, he clicked on one of them and opened it.

It was a picture of Brokeback and Buttcheeks.

Neither of them was wearing any clothes.

“GAH! MY EYES!!” Yoichi cried, slamming the lid of the laptop down and backing away.

He shook his head, trying to clear the mental image, but it remained stubbornly persistent. He felt his dick instantly start to wilt. Not that either of them were bad to look at – they were two of the best-looking guys Yoichi had ever _seen_ , and in phenomenal shape. But it was _Brokeback!_ Yoichi did _not_ want to see the Sheriff in that light.

Another message arrived from Hiro. Yoichi grabbed the phone, annoyed, about to tell Torch-head to calm his fucking tits and give him a second to get things set up.

It was another picture message.

Taken from the back, this time.

The curve of Hiro's ass peeking out over the waistband of his jeans.

Suddenly the image of Brokeback and Buttcheeks was pushed out of the forefront of Yoichi's mind. He found the strength to open up the laptop, close the picture (making sure not to look directly at it this time) and start searching again.

He located the magnifying glass icon. _That's_ what he was looking for. He typed “AceTime” into the search window and found it.

Finally!

Yoichi opened AceTime, input Hiro's contact information and started praying for a stable connection.

He waited. And waited. And waited.

And then his boyfriend's face filled the laptop screen.

“Yoichi!” Hiro cried, beaming delightedly. “You did it! It worked!”

“Can you see me too?” Yoichi asked.

“Hell yeah I can! Woohoo!”

Hiro waved at him with both hands like a complete dork. Yoichi couldn't help but grin.

“This is gonna be so much fun!!” Hiro cried, clapping his hands. “Now we can talk face to face whenever we want!”

“Well, only when I can sneak Brokeback's laptop out of his office,” Yoichi pointed out.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. You find anything interesting on there?” Hiro teased.

Yoichi shuddered. “You don't wanna know.”

Hiro giggled. “'Kay. Oh, man! I'm so excited! I've got so much to tell you! It feels like ages since we last saw each other!”

“It's been less than a month,” Yoichi said, smiling. “And I call you every day.”

“Hehe, I know. But it's not the same. Now I get to _look_ at you!”

“So that's all I am to you, huh?” Yoichi teased. “A piece of meat?”

Hiro looked alarmed. “Oh! No, no, no, no! I didn't mean that! Wolfboy, I'm sorry, you know I -”

Yoichi held up his hand to stop Hiro's anxious flow of words. “Relax, Torch-head. I was kidding. It's good to get to look at you, too.”

Hiro grinned, relieved. “This is so cool! It's my first virtual date!”

Yoichi chuckled. “Mine too.”

A buzzing sound came through the speakers of Brokeback's laptop. Hiro glanced over his shoulder, annoyed.

“What's that?” Yoichi asked, pretending not to know.

“Gah, it's just someone wanting in to the building,” Hiro replied. “Ignore it. Someone else can let them in.”

The buzzer came again. And again.

“Sounds like you should answer it,” Yoichi said.

Hiro scowled into the camera. “No way! I finally got you all to myself! Whoever it is can just come back later.”

“No, Torch-head, you're not understanding me,” Yoichi said meaningfully. “I _really_ think you should answer it.”

Hiro looked quizzically into the camera. “What're you up to?” he said, suspicious, but with a smile beginning to form.

“Just answer the door,” Yoichi said, smirking.

Hiro scampered off. His webcam was positioned so that Yoichi could still see him as he buzzed the visitor into the apartment building. Hiro waited, casting curious looks back over his shoulder towards the webcam, until there came a knock at the door. He answered it.

Yoichi grinned as he saw Hiro pick up what had arrived, close the door and bring it over to the webcam.

“No way!” he cried. “You ordered me a _pizza_? Haha, that's amazing!” Hiro held the box up to the webcam, lifting the lid to show the pizza inside. “And it has anchovies?! You remembered! Awww, Wolfboy! That's so cute!”

Yoichi shrugged, acting like it was nothing, but couldn't help grinning at Hiro's obvious delight. “Well, you can't have a date without food, right?” he said.

“Wait, how did you pay for this?” Hiro asked suddenly. “You don't have any money.”

“I know all Brokeback's card details.”

“Yoichi!”

“What? I'll pay him back! I always do!”

“With what?!”

“He pays me to keep an eye on the camp when he's not around, remember? Next time I'll give him a discount.” Hiro still looked uncomfortable. “Torch-head, it's fine. Eat the damn pizza.”

Hiro grabbed a slice and raised it to his mouth, but stopped before taking a bite, his face thoughtful.

“What's wrong now?” Yoichi asked.

Hiro held the slice away from his mouth, hesitant. “My diet,” he said sadly. “It's been going really well. Thanks for the thought, but I don't think I should eat this, Wolfboy.” He sounded devastated.

Yoichi waved his objections away. “It's one little pizza, Torch-head. Won't do you any harm. Call it a cheat day.”

Hiro still held back, unconvinced. “You sure?”

“Yes. Trust me. You've been sticking to your meal plan and those workouts I gave you, right?”

Hiro nodded.

“Then you'll be fine. Just don't make a habit of it. Enjoy, man.”

Hiro stared at the pizza slice for a few seconds more. He licked his lips. Then he shoved it into his mouth all in one go, smearing grease and cheese over his face. He closed his eyes as he chewed, making a sound Yoichi had previously only heard him emit in the bedroom.

“Oh _man_ ,” Hiro mumbled through a mouthful of pizza. “Dat's gud. Dat's so _gud_.”

Yoichi watched Hiro eat in silence for a while, content to see his boyfriend happy.

After eating a few slices, Hiro regained enough awareness to ask, “What about you? Don't you have any food?”

“Nah, I ate earlier.”

Hiro swallowed a slice of pizza and belched politely into the back of his hand. “Aww, now I feel bad eating this in front of you.”

“Don't. It's nice seeing you happy.”

Hiro grinned. “I _am_ happy. And I have so much to tell you! So, today I went to visit my mom in the hospital, and the doctors said ...”

Yoichi listened to Hiro relate the day's news, his usual motormouth communication style interrupted every time he ate a new slice of pizza. The news about his mom was good, it seemed. She was responding well to the treatment, and would possibly be strong enough to make the trip back home and spend Christmas with her family. Hiro's voice broke a little as he told Yoichi this, and he had to pause to wipe a couple of tears from the corner of his eyes.

“Can you believe it? We might get to go to grandma's for Christmas! And I'll get to see you as well! Isn't it amazing?!”

Yoichi smiled. “Yeah, that's cool, Torch-head.”

“I can't wait for you to meet everyone! They're all so nice! Well, my aunt's kinda crazy. And some of my cousins are annoying. But my grandma's so cool! And she's an _amazing_ cook. Seriously, Wolfboy, if you think _my_ cooking is good, wait until you taste hers! I'll probably undo the past month's dieting in one meal,” he said, laughing.

Yoichi frowned as he realised what Hiro was saying. “You mean you – you want me to spend Christmas with you guys?”

Hiro stopped, confused. “Well, yeah. I mean, don't you wanna come? Or do you have other plans?”

The casual way Hiro had said it told Yoichi he had no idea what the offer meant to him. Yoichi tried to keep his composure.

“N-no,” Yoichi said, struggling to keep his voice even. He cleared his throat. “I mean, Brokeback usually invites me along to his family Christmas. It's totally lame. You should see the sweaters they all wear. Be nice to get away from that for once.”

“Oh my god. Please tell me there are pictures. I could die happy if I saw you in a big ugly Christmas sweater.”

“Oh, you'd _die_ all right,” Yoichi threatened. Hiro laughed.

“Cool! Then it's settled. Provided my mom's well enough. But she should be. This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!”

Hiro moved on to another topic, not giving his offer a second thought, but Yoichi found it hard to concentrate on what he was saying.

He'd been invited to Christmas.

A _family_ Christmas.

Not as some pathetic charity case, not as an afterthought. By someone who actually wanted him there. Who _expected_ him to be there, as naturally as anything. Of course he'd been grateful to go with Brokeback the other years, but it wasn't the same as this. The looks from Yoshinori's family had all been so – pitying. Hiro wasn't pitying him. Hiro was _excited_ by the idea of him coming along.

Yoichi felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed, annoyed, trying to clear it away.

They continued chatting while Hiro ate his pizza. When there were a couple of slices left he paused. “Uh, I don't think I can finish this,” he said. “My tummy must've shrunk 'cause of the diet.”

“Save 'em for later.”

“Weird. Don't think I've ever had leftovers before! Be right back.”

Hiro got up to put the remaining slices of pizza in the fridge. As soon as he was offscreen, Yoichi jumped up as well. He whipped off his shirt, shoes, socks and pants. He was on the point of removing his underwear when he saw Mr Perfect sitting beside the desk, looking up at him and wagging his tail.

“Sorry, buddy,” Yoichi said. “Three's a crowd. Go play.”

He opened the cabin door. Mr Perfect raced outside to find his brothers. A blast of cool winter air swept through the cabin before Yoichi could close the door again. Goosebumps rose all over his exposed skin.

He whipped off his underwear and threw himself back into the seat. Hiro still hadn't returned. Yoichi tried out a few different poses before settling on one: legs open, ankles crossed, arms folded behind his head to show off his biceps. He made sure to tense his abs, too.

He waited for Hiro to return.

And waited.

And waited.

_Damn it, Torch-head, what's taking so long?!_ he thought. His muscles were starting to cramp.

Finally, Hiro reappeared. “Sorry about that, Wolfboy, I was getting a dri- _hiiiiink!!”_

Hiro dropped the glass of orange juice he'd been carrying as soon as he saw Yoichi on the webcam. Yoichi heard the glass thump on the floor. Hiro stared at him, goggle-eyed and open-mouthed, having totally forgotten the glass.

Yoichi smirked. Hiro's reaction to his body was something that would never get old.

“You spilled your drink, there, Torch-head,” Yoichi said casually.

Hiro continued to stare at him. “Buh,” was all he could say.

“You might wanna clean that up.”

“Guh?”

Yoichi reached down with one hand and slowly stroked his dick, which was starting to wake up. “What?” he said. “You thought I went to all this trouble just to watch you eat pizza?”

“Muh,” Hiro said.

Yoichi chuckled. “Torch-head, the glass. Don't want you cutting yourself.”

Emerging slightly from his trance, Hiro glanced down at the floor. “It – it landed on the carpet,” he said dreamily.

“Oh. That's okay, then.”

Hiro slowly reached down, picked up the intact but now empty glass and set it on the table beside his keyboard.

“I made a mess,” he said stupidly.

Yoichi grinned at him. “Let's make a bigger one. Take your shirt off.”

As if hypnotised, Hiro slowly lifted his shirt over his head and cast it aside. Yoichi drank in the sight of his exposed torso. It was a shame not to get the chance to run his hands over it, to feel Hiro's smooth skin and tweak those perfect little nipples, but the sight alone was enough for now. His dick stood up a little straighter.

“Very nice,” Yoichi purred. “Now point the webcam down at your feet.”

“M-my feet?”

“Do it, Torch-head!” Yoichi commanded.

Hiro obeyed. Yoichi found himself looking at Hiro's white socks.

“Socks off,” Yoichi ordered. “Now.”

Hiro peeled his socks off. Yoichi found himself looking at Hiro's bare feet. Not a part of the body he'd given much consideration to before, but there was just something appealing about Hiro's. They were so perfectly formed, so cute. The way his toes were twitching nervously with anticipation.

Besides, he wanted to make this last. Drain every last moment of pleasure he could.

“Now stand up,” Yoichi said. “Raise the webcam. Right up. That's it. Good boy. Stand back. Let me get a look at you. All of you.”

Hiro did as commanded. Yoichi drank in the sight of him standing there, naked except for a pair of shorts. Hiro's dick was already poking out the front of them like a small tent. Yoichi thought he could make out a little wet spot there, too.

Yoichi had to admit, he was enjoying taking his time for once. Normally he charged straight in, no questions asked, bending Hiro to his will and taking what he wanted immediately. It made a pleasant change to linger over every part of his boyfriend's body.

“Okay,” Yoichi said. “Now take off the shorts. But leave the underwear on.”

Hiro paused. “I – I can't,” he said.

Yoichi scowled. “Do what I tell you!”

Hiro was blushing. “I – I'm not wearing any underwear,” he admitted.

Yoichi chuckled. “Okay. I'll let you off with that, then. But take off the shorts. _Slowly_.”

Yoichi slowly stroked his now fully erect dick as he watched Hiro bend over and slip out of his shorts. He was enjoying the way the table lamp behind Hiro was highlighting certain parts of his body. Especially the small curve of his ass.

Hiro dropped the shorts and stepped out of them, now completely naked. His own dick was now waving around in front of him, also erect. Yet he hadn't dared touch it. Not without Yoichi telling him to.

“Very nice,” Yoichi said. “Now come sit down again.”

Hiro did as he was told.

“Fix the webcam. I want to see you properly.”

Hiro adjusted the view. Yoichi could see him from the crotch up, minus the top of his head. His hair was out of shot, but his face wasn't. His expression was excited, eager to please, but also slightly fearful of doing the wrong thing.

Just how Yoichi liked it.

“That's good,” Yoichi said. “Leave it there. Mmmm. Yeah. Good.”

Yoichi watched Hiro in silence for a few moments, stroking himself and observing the way the younger boy was visibly trembling in anticipation.

“Y-Yoichi,” Hiro begged, “I-I gotta – please - ” His fingers balled into fists on the arm-rests of his computer chair, but he didn't dare touch himself. Not yet. Not without permission.

“Shhhh,” Yoichi said soothingly. “Not just yet. Wait a little longer.”

Hiro winced from the effort of restraining himself. Yoichi saw his dick shaking back and forward, straining for relief.

He waited until he thought Hiro couldn't take it any more. “Okay,” he said. “Now you can. But – _gently._ Slowly. Take your time, Torch-head.”

Hiro reached down with one hand and brushed his fingertips against the head of his dick. He gasped. The fingertips came away slightly sticky as they moved down the length of his shaft, carefully, gently, fearful of going too far.

Yoichi adjusted his position, flexing his muscles as he did so. He heard Hiro moan as he observed this, as though he had somehow touched him.

“Now,” Yoichi said. “The other hand.”

Hiro's other hand crept down to his groin, reached his penis and kept going. Yoichi watched the fingers disappear between his legs.

“Lift your legs up,” Yoichi ordered. “I wanna see.”

Hiro did as commanded. He braced his feet on either side of the desk, his toes flexing with pleasure. Yoichi now had a full view of Hiro's ass – except for the part obscured by his busy hand.

“Gently, gently,” Yoichi chided as Hiro's rhythm began to pick up. He slowed the pace immediately. “Just around the outside at first. No need to rush.” The fingers of one hand explored the outer rim of Hiro's hole, while the others gently caressed the shaft of his penis. Yoichi matched his own strokes to Hiro's, using both hands on his much larger shaft.

Hiro's eyes were fluttering closed, his amber irises almost invisible behind the lids.

“Open your eyes,” Yoichi demanded. “Look at me.”

Hiro did.

They locked eyes across the webcam feed, moving as one despite being separated by miles of geographical distance.

“Unf,” Hiro groaned, breathing heavily. “Wolfboy...”

Yoichi's own breath quickened in time with their synchronised strokes. “Yeah?” he grunted.

“I – I – I – oh, god ...”

Hiro arched his spine, leaning backwards in his chair and giving Yoichi a breath-taking view up the length of his body. He moaned as his hands picked up the pace, his muscles trembling, his face contorted with pleasure, his toes curling and uncurling.

“Don't you – dare – come first,” Yoichi panted.

Hiro whimpered, trying to hold on, as Yoichi stroked himself harder. Yoichi's eyes devoured every inch of Hiro's body, trying to take in all of him at once. Hiro's own eyes had closed as he concentrated on holding back his approaching orgasm.

“Yoichi,” he pleaded, “please, I – I can't -”

Hiro lost control. He cried out as a spurt of ejaculate shot into the air. Some of it landed on his face, chest and belly. A few spots even hit the webcam, blurring the screen. Hiro arched his back once again as he came – and then, suddenly, the chair he was sitting on toppled over, taking Hiro with it. There was a resounding crash as Hiro disappeared from view.

“Torch-head?! Torch-head! Fuck! You okay?!”

Yoichi sat forward, concerned, his own pleasure momentarily forgotten. Hiro had fallen backwards as he came. Now only his feet were visible over the edge of the desk, sticking up into the air, toes still twitching.

“TORCH-HEAD!” Yoichi bellowed. “TALK TO ME!”

Hiro's groans came through the laptop's speakers. Yoichi relaxed a little. At least he was still alive.

“That,” Hiro panted faintly, “was amazing. _Wow_.”

Yoichi laughed with relief. “Jesus. You scared me, idiot. I thought you'd knocked your brains out.”

Hiro continued lying on his back, feet in the air, as he tried to recover.

“Hey, get your ass back on screen,” Yoichi demanded. “I'm not done yet.”

Hiro's feet disappeared. He rolled over and stood up, his back to the webcam.

“Well?” Yoichi barked. “What's taking so long?”

“You told me to get my ass on screen,” Hiro said playfully. He wiggled his butt back and forth. “Well, here it is!” He smacked it lightly.

Yoichi chuckled. “Fine. I can work with that.”

Yoichi resumed stroking his dick as Hiro posed for him. The younger boy ran his hands over his smooth cheeks, kneading them and playing with them, pulling them apart slightly to tease Yoichi. _Fuck,_ Yoichi thought. _What I wouldn't do to get my hands on you right now, Torch-head._

Yoichi's orgasm was a little less dramatic than Hiro's, but he enjoyed the release nonetheless. He relaxed back in his chair, dripping and panting, feeling relief flood through his body.

Hiro sat back down at the computer and waiting for Yoichi to recover, smiling into the webcam with his head tilted to one side.

“You done, big guy?” he asked.

Yoichi nodded.

“This was pretty fun, wasn't it?”

“Yeah,” Yoichi agreed. “Not a patch on the real thing. But it'll do.”

Hiro giggled. “Good thing you found Sir Yoshi's new laptop. You're _terrible_ at taking dick pics.”

“Well, that's 'cause it's hard for me to fit the whole thing in,” Yoichi pointed out.

Hiro laughed. “Tell me about it,” he said. “Ouch!”

Yoichi snickered. “Good thing the crazy lady finally convinced him to install some decent wifi around here, too,” he added.

Hiro frowned. “Wait. Miss Yuri was the one who did that?”

“Yeah, I think so. She kept saying the camp needed to come into the twenty-first century. She said they'd keep the password under lock and key to stop the campers from getting access to it.”

“And how did you know what the password was?” Hiro asked, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Well, she was really obvious about where she hid it in her desk. I guess she didn't realise I was watching.”

“Uh huh.” He digested this. “And Sir Yoshi's laptop? Whose idea was that?”

“Um, hers too, I think,” Yoichi said. “Why?”

Hiro shook his head. “Wolfboy, Wolfboy,” he lamented. “You are _so_ dumb.”

“What? What're you talking about?”

Hiro giggled. “So Miss Yuri convinces Scoutmaster Yoshi to get a new laptop, and install decent wifi, and then makes sure to hide the passwords somewhere you can find it, and you don't think that's even a _little_ bit suspicious?”

Yoichi's eyes widened. “Uh ...”

Hiro laughed at his expression. “She totally set you up, dude. She's probably watching us through the webcam right now.”

Startled, Yoichi glanced into the eye of the camera on top of the laptop screen. “She can do that?!” he said in a panicked voice.

Hiro shrugged. “Maybe. I dunno. Who cares? It's worth it to get to look at you.”

“I don't want her spying on us while we're doing stuff!” Yoichi protested. “That's – weird!”

Hiro chuckled. “Too late now. Better get used to it.”

Yoichi slowly adjusted his position so that his dick was no longer visible to the webcam.

“Aww, c'mon,” Hiro said. “I was only teasing. I'm sure she's not watching us.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She's probably recording it to watch later.”

“Torch-head!”

Hiro laughed again. He continued to tease Yoichi until the latter threatened to put some clothes on, at which point he gave up the joke.

They continued chatting for a while after that. Yoichi caught Hiro up on what had been happening around camp during his absence, while Hiro speculated on more things they could do when he visited at Christmas.

“So, what're you gonna do for the rest of the night?” Hiro asked finally. “My mom's coming home for a few days tomorrow, I'll have to go soon to get things ready. Hope you're not just gonna sit around pining for me.”

Yoichi snorted. “Nah. Dynamite's invited me over to his place. Frogboy's got some big essay due for college that he's panicking over, so he's at a loose end. We're gonna have a boys' night.”

Hiro snickered. “Dude, he's dating a guy. You're dating a guy. _Every_ night is a boys' night for you two.”

Yoichi snorted. “Yeah, but an _actual_ boys' night. Doing guy things. Not the sissy crap we have to put up with when we're hanging out with you and Frogboy. No baking cookies and talking about our feelings.”

“Hey, you _love_ my cookies.”

“True,” Yoichi admitted.

“So what's this boys' night involve? You guys gonna cause a ruckus?”

“Yeah! Probably watch sports, hit some bars, pick up a few chicks, start a fight. That kinda thing.”

Hiro laughed. “Pick up chicks. Sure. You're scared of girls, Wolfboy.”

“I am not!” Yoichi protested. “They're just – gross.”

“Uh huh. Afraid you'll catch cooties?”

“Hey, you can't be too careful.”

Hiro chuckled. “Well, I hope you guys have fun, whatever you get up to.”

“We'll probably just end up drinking beer and playing video games again,” Yoichi admitted.

Hiro sighed. “Aw. I miss that,” he said sadly.

“Hey, don't be down, Torch-head,” Yoichi said. “You'll be home soon.”

Hiro smiled. “Yeah. I will.” He glanced at the clock on the wall behind him. “Crap! I gotta go. My laundry needs taken out of the dryer.” He blew a kiss into the webcam. “Love ya! Bye!”

“You too, Torch-head. Talk to you later.”

Hiro disconnected, his image disappearing from the laptop screen. Yoichi stared at it for a few moments, feeling sad. Then he shook himself and started cleaning up the mess their little date had made. He realised he probably needed a shower, too, before he headed to Taiga's place.

He was gathering his things to head over to the camp-ground showers when he heard something whining and scratching at the door. Probably one of the pups asking to be let back in.

“All right, all right, I'm coming,” Yoichi grumbled. “You guys are needier than Hiro.”

He opened the door. Mr Perfect was sitting on the doorstep, looking up at him. He barked in greeting.

“Hi, buddy,” Yoichi said. “You can come back inside now. Date's over.”

Yoichi stepped aside to allow the pup back into the cabin. Mr Perfect didn't move, however.

Yoichi frowned. “What're you waiting for? C'mon, man. It's too cold to be standing here like this.”

He was only wearing the bathrobe Brokeback had bought him and a pair of slippers. Personally, Yoichi didn't see why he couldn't have just walked naked to the showers during the hot weather like he'd always done, but Brokeback had thought otherwise. In winter, at least, he was grateful for the warmth.

Mr Perfect barked again. Instead of coming inside, however, he scampered off across the camp-grounds. He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, waiting for Yoichi to follow.

If it had been any of the other pups pulling this kind of stunt, Yoichi would have ignored it. Most of them just wanted to play. But Mr Perfect was different. He was like that dog from those old movies: whenever he did something unusual, there was always something he was trying to communicate.

“Fine, I'm coming,” Yoichi muttered. “But if Timmy's stuck down the well he can fucking stay there until I've had a shower.”

Yoichi followed Mr Perfect across the darkened camp-ground. The pup took him past the scoutmasters' offices where he'd been earlier and around the corner of the main building.

Someone was sitting on the steps of the building, almost hidden in the darkness. At this distance they were basically a shadow, but Yoichi would've known that gangly silhouette anywhere.

Mr Perfect barked at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I see him,” Yoichi answered. “Jesus. Has he just been _sitting_ there all this time?”

Mr Perfect barked again.

“Fuck.”

Mr Perfect trotted over to the shadow. Yoichi followed.

“I thought you were going home,” Yoichi said as he came closer.

Natsumi looked up at him, startled out of whatever he had been thinking. He glanced around, only just seeming to realise where he was. “I meant to,” he said, distracted. “I just sat down for a minute and – I suppose I lost track of time.”

“That was _hours_ ago. You've just been sitting here by yourself this whole time? In the dark?”

Natsumi shrugged, absently scratching Mr Perfect behind the ears. “Where else would I go?” he muttered.

Once upon a time, Yoichi would've left Natsumi sitting there without a second thought. He would've gone about his business, pausing perhaps just to toss a casual insult over his shoulder, chuckling to himself over how pathetic Natsumi was being. Then he would've gone on to Taiga's and had fun the rest of the night, forgetting all about the sad, lonely shadow sitting on the steps of the empty camp.

But that was the old Yoichi.

Before last summer. Before Hiro and his friends. Before that bunch of dumb stupid sissies had infected him with their idiotic _feelings_ , making him care about other people. Even the annoying ones.

Yoichi sighed. Sometimes, he really missed being the old Yoichi.

“Natsumi?”

Natsumi raised his eyes. “Yes?”

“Do you like video games?”


	2. The World's Tallest Virgin

If Taiga was surprised when Yoichi showed up on his doorstep with Natsumi in tow, he hid it well. He gave them both a hearty greeting, said "The more the merrier!" and clapped them both on the shoulder as they headed inside.

He _was_ slightly surprised when Natsumi pressed a carton of milk into his hands as they were standing in the hallway.

"Um, what's this?" Taiga asked.

"Don't ask," Yoichi muttered.

"It's tradition for guests to bring something to drink when they arrive at a party, isn't it?" Natsumi asked Taiga.

"Uh ..."

"You're supposed to bring _alcohol_ , man," Yoichi said. "I told you this when you made us stop at the store."

"I can't legally purchase alcohol!" Natsumi admonished. "Besides, milk is much nicer, I think. And it doesn't make you sick afterwards. Unless you're lactose intolerant. You're not, are you?" he asked Taiga, concerned.

"Um, no. Thanks, Natsumi. I'll just – er, put this in the fridge."

Yoichi shook his head when Taiga brushed past him, smiling, as he headed into the kitchen.

"Make yourselves at home, guys!" Taiga called. "There's snacks in the living room!"

"Your parents out?" Yoichi asked.

"Yep! We've got the place to ourselves!"

Yoichi walked into the living room and threw himself down on the couch. He grabbed a handful of chips from a bowl on the coffee table and was happily shoving them into his mouth when he noticed Natsumi looming awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Sit down, man," Yoichi said. "And relax, dammit! You look stiff as hell. It's just a casual hang out, not a job interview."

"Oh! Okay." Natsumi perched on the edge of a chair, his hands placed neatly on his kneecaps, leaning forward. "Is this better?"

Yoichi sighed and took another handful of chips.

Taiga returned carrying a couple of bottles of beer. He tossed one to Yoichi, who caught it easily. He held out the other questioningly to Natsumi.

"Natsumi? You want a beer?"

Natsumi glanced nervously at Yoichi. "Er, I -"

"He'd better stick to soda," Yoichi interjected.

"Oh. No problem." Taiga opened his beer and then tossed the bottle opener to Yoichi before heading back into the kitchen. "Coke okay?" he called.

"Yes, thank you!" Natsumi answered.

After a few moments Taiga returned, passed Natsumi his drink and joined Yoichi on the couch.

"So what's up, guys?" Taiga said, taking a drink of his beer and grabbing a handful of chips. "Haven't seen you around camp in a while," he said, gesturing at Natsumi with his beer bottle.

Natsumi sipped his coke and looked at the floor. "I've been busy," was all he said.

Taiga glanced at Yoichi, who shook his head silently. Taiga dropped the subject.

"You talk to Hiro recently? How's he doing?" Taiga asked Yoichi instead, changing the suject.

"Yeah, we hung out online this afternoon," Yoichi said. "He's doing pretty good. He thinks he and his mom will be coming home for Christmas." He was unable to keep a small smile of happiness from his face as he added, "Should be fun."

"That's awesome, man!" Taiga clinked his beer bottle against Yoichi's. "I can't believe it's less than a week away. I gotta make sure and finish wrapping Keitaro's presents before he comes over and sees them," he added, gesturing at the piles of gifts and wrapping paper on the table in the corner of the room.

Yoichi froze, beer bottle halfway to his lips, as he took in the sight of everything on the table.

"Yeah, I know, I went kinda overboard," Taiga said, embarrassed. "But it's our first Christmas together! I want it to be special. I bet you put a lot of thought into what you got for Hiro as well, right?"

Yoichi remained frozen in place. Taiga thought he could see beads of sweat forming on his friend's brow.

"Uh, Yoichi? What's wrong?"

Yoichi didn't respond.

"You did remember to _get_ Hiro a gift, right?" Taiga asked.

"Um..."

Taiga made a disghusted sound. "Yoichi! Jeez! How could you forget something like that?!"

"Well, I've never dated someone for this long before!" Yoichi protested. He took a nervous chug of his beer. "I've never done all that stupid coupley crap at Christmas!" The enormity of his oversight seemed to have sunk in. "Fuck. _Fuck!_ Torch-head's gonna be really hurt, isn't he?" he asked, slightly panicked.

"No, no, not at all," Taiga said sarcastically. "I mean, I don't know Hiro as well as you do, but he definitely strikes me as someone totally laid back and casual, who doesn't get emotionally invested in stuff like this. I'm sure he'll be _fiiiiinne,_ " he said, rolling his eyes for emphasis. "You dumbass," he added.

Yoichi dropped his head in his hands and groaned.

"Don't worry, Yoichi," Natsumi said. "There's still time to get Hiro the perfect gift!"

"And what the hell am I supposed to get him?" Yoichi demanded. "I don't have any money!"

"Didn't you say you still had some of the cash Scoutmaster Yoshi paid you for your last camp-sitting job?" Taiga pointed out.

"Yeah, but that money was for _me_!" Yoichi protested.

Taiga gave him a level look and simply said, " _Dude_."

"Gah! Fine, fine. I'll use that," Yoichi grumbled.

"Okay, so you have money. Now what are you gonna buy him? What does he like?"

Yoichi frowned, thinking hard.

"Hiro likes food," Natsumi suggested. "Why don't you buy him some chocolates?"

Yoichi shook his head. "He's been dieting lately. And I already bought him a pizza." He suddenly brightened. "Hey, do you think -"

" _No_ , Yoichi, you can't give your boyfriend _pizza_ for Christmas," Taiga said, exasperated.

"Fuck!" Yoichi snarled, slamming his fist on the couch cushion. "This is impossible!" He stood up and went over to Taiga's gifts laid out on the table. "What did you get Frogboy?" he asked.

Taiga joined him. "Some attachments for his camera," he said, pointing out each item in turn, "a book about photography, some chocolates, oh, and this," he said, holding up a cute little frog plushie.

"What about this one?" Yoichi said, picking up one of the already wrapped gifts. It was a rectangular box about twelve inches in length.

"That's, uh, private," Taiga said, blushing slightly. He took the box from Yoichi and discreetly placed it to one side.

"Hmmm," Yoichi said thoughtfully. "I guess I could get Torch-head some cookery crap. But I have no idea what kind of things he uses. A – a whisk? That's a cookery thing, right?"

"Yeah, Yoichi. A whisk is a cookery thing," Taiga said wearily. "Not really much of a Christmas present, though."

Yoichi looked helplessly at the array of gifts on the table.

Taiga took pity and patted him on the shoulder. "Look, man, I have some free time tomorrow. Why don't we head into town and I'll help you shop for something, huh? Natsumi, you'll come too, right?"

Natsumi nodded, surprised and pleased to be included.

"Ugh," Yoichi muttered, with all the good grace of a sulky five-year-old. "Shopping. I fucking _hate_ shopping." He glanced at Taiga's expression. "But, uh, yeah. Thanks. That'd be good."

Yoichi picked up one of the decorative bows scattered among the wrapping paper and fiddled with it in his hands.

"You sure I couldn't just put this thing on my dick and tell him _that's_ his present?" he asked hopefully.

Taiga laughed and went to sit down. "Only if you want Hiro to be asking Santa for a new boyfriend next Christmas," he teased. He turned to Natsumi. "How about you, Natsumi? You got any last-minute shopping to do?"

Yoichi snorted as he rejoined Taiga on the couch. "You kidding me? Mr Perfect here probably buys all his gifts three years in advance."

"I _have_ found something for almost everyone," Natsumi conceded. "There is one person I'm having trouble buying for."

"If it's me, just give me the cash," Yoichi said.

Natsumi chuckled. "No, it's not you, Yoichi." He looked down at his hands and his face reddened slightly. "It's for – someone else."

Taiga and Yoichi traded a look.

"Someone _special_?" Taiga asked, grinning.

Natsumi blushed deeper but couldn't help smiling back. "Well. Yes. Maybe. I mean – yes." He took a sip of his coke to cover his embarrassment.

"Hunter, right?" Yoichi said casually.

Natsumi did a spit-take, spewing a mist of cola droplets all over both Taiga and Yoichi. He began to cough and splutter, having accidentally inhaled some of his drink. His face was now dark red, whether from embarrassment or choking or a combination of them both.

"Jesus, man!" Yoichi cried, wiping coke-drops and spit from his face. "You fucking soaked us!"

Taiga got up and was smacking Natsumi between the shoulder blades, trying to help him recover. Gasping and wheezing, Natsumi finally drew in some deep breaths, holding up his hand to tell Taiga to stop.

"I-I'm all right," Natsumi croaked, sucking in lungfuls of air. "I'm so sorry about that! I just – I didn't think – I didn't realise -"

"What, it was supposed to be a _secret?!"_ Yoichi asked, incredulous.

Natsumi looked between them both, shocked. "You _knew_? _Both_ of you?!"

" _Everybody_ knows," Yoichi said.

Taiga nodded while wiping his face clean. "Pretty much," he added. "Keitaro told me. But, I mean, it _has_ been kind of obvious. You talk about him a lot."

"And you're the one he's been in contact with the most ever since his parents took him out of camp," Yoichi pointed out.

Natsumi blinked, taking this in. "I thought I was being more low key than that."

Taiga laughed. "Fraid not, dude."

"Yeah. It's pretty blatant."

Natsumi scowled. "Not to Hunter," he muttered.

Taiga and Yoichi traded another look as Natsumi took another sip from his coke – more carefully, this time.

"So, you two, you're not actually - " Taiga prompted.

"Nope," Natsumi said bitterly.

"Oh. But you like him?"

Natsumi's expression softened. "Yes. I do. I like him – a lot."

"Then ask him out, man!" Taiga said encouragingly. "What've you got to lose?"

Natsumi looked pained. "It's – difficult," he said. "He lives in another country. We can only talk online. And he's so busy with business school and learning the ropes from his parents that he's not even able to do _that_ very often. And what if – what if I ask him, and it ruins our friendship? I don't think I could bear that."

It was strange seeing Natsumi like this, Yoichi thought. He didn't often get a chance to peek behind the carefully polished "Mr Perfect" exterior and see the human emotions locked away inside. Usually the only time Natsumi seemed normal to him was when he'd been pushed to breaking point and finally snapped. This was different. He seemed sad and somehow more likeable. Yoichi was suddenly very glad he'd decided to ask him along.

"Look, man," Yoichi said, "you won't know until you take the risk and ask him. Yeah, it might not work out. But if it does? It's worth it. And as for all that other crap – look at me and Hiro. He's off in the capital most of the time, but we make it work."

Natsumi absorbed this and sipped his coke.

"We can help you look for Hunter's gift tomorrow as well," Taiga said. "Something that'll really knock his socks off. Then he's bound to want to go out with you!"

"Aw, guys, thanks," Natsumi said, smiling. He chuckled. "If you told me a year ago that I'd be sitting here with the two of you, discussing this kind of thing - " he shook his head at the implausibility of the notion. "You both turned out to be full of surprises."

"That's us," Taiga said with a grin, and clinked his beer bottle against Yoichi's once more.

Natsumi glanced at Yoichi. "What you said before, about you and Hiro," he said. "How you manage things, despite being apart from each other. Is it difficult?"

Yoichi sipped his beer thoughtfully. "It's not easy," he admitted. "Being online helps. And Hiro visits as much as he's able. I guess that might not be an option for you and Hunter."

"Actually, his parents _do_ go on a lot of business trips," Natsumi said. "They want Hunter to start coming along. One of them will even bring him pretty close by in the new year. Within driving distance." He blushed again. "I've been thinking about it a lot," he admitted.

"Well, there you go, dude!" Taiga cried. "There's your perfect opportunity to seal the deal!"

Natsumi winced. "I don't know. It's a big step. I think I'd be more comfortable talking to him online about things first."

"Probably a good idea," Yoichi said. "If he turns you down you can just pull the plug and say your connection broke." Off Taiga's glare, he hastily added, "But, uh, he probably won't turn you down, right, Taiga?"

Taiga only shook his head at Yoichi's lack of tact.

Natsumi seemed not to have picked up on this, distracted by a thought. Taiga and Yoichi gave him a moment to collect himself.

When he didn't seem likely to elaborate, Taiga asked, "Natsumi? What's up?"

Natsumi glanced at them, then glanced away. There was something furtive and embarrassed about his demeanor all of a sudden. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I was just – just wondeering," he said, trying and failing to sound casual. "Yoichi, you and Hiro, do you ever – ah, I mean – that is – when you're both on the computer, have you ever tried, uhm, well, you know - "

"Fucking?" Yoichi asked.

This time Taiga was the one who almost choked on his drink.

Natsumi blushed bright red, but nodded, not meeting their eyes.

Yoichi shrugged. "Yeah. We've traded pics, videos a few times." He grinned. "Tonight was the first live show, actually."

"Jeez, I don't know if I want to hear this," Taiga said uncomfortably.

"Oh, relax," Yoichi replied. "I know all about you and Frogboy and those special 'massages'."

Taiga's eyes widened. "Keitaro told _you_ about our sex life?!" he cried in disbelief.

"Nah. He told Hiro. Him and Torch-head like to share details during their little girly chats. And Torch-head can't keep his mouth shut."

"I am gonna _kill_ Keitaro," Taiga muttered.

"It's not a big deal, Dynamite. It's just sex."

"Oh yeah? How would you like it if I blabbed to everyone about _your_ personal stuff?!"

Yoichi shrugged. "I got nothin' to hide."

A wicked smirk came over Taiga's face. "Oh, really?" he said teasingly.

Yoichi frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Like what happened after you and Hiro watched _Yaoi on Ice_?"

Yoich's eyes widened in alarm. "I don't know what you're talking -"

"He cried," Taiga blurted to Natsumi, gesturing at Yoichi. "He cried like a baby."

Yoichi's eyes blazed with rage. His mouth worked but no sound came out as he tried to think of a way to deny such an accusation.

" _Yaoi on Ice_?" Natsumi asked, confused. "The ice skating anime?"

Taiga nodded smugly. "Yup. Apparently Mr Tough Guy here broke down blubbering during the final skate. Big manly sobs. According to Keitaro, Hiro thought it was really sweet."

Natsumi looked incredulously between Taiga and Yoichi.

"Oh, fuck you!" Yoichi snarled. "I'm not made of fucking stone! Their love was beautiful! And I – I," he stopped and wiped his eye. "I need a minute."

Yoichi got up abruptly and left the room.

Natsumi and Taiga stared at each other in disbelief.

"Wow," Natsumi said.

"Wow," Taiga agreed. He looked guilty. "I feel kinda bad now."

Natsumi chuckled. "He'll get over it."

After a few minutes, Yoichi returned acting like nothing had happened. Both Taiga and Natsumi tacitly agreed to pretend the same thing.

"Anyway, like I was saying," Yoichi went on, "webcam sex is no big deal. Not as much fun as the real thing, but it should keep you guys going."

It was Natsumi's turn to be embarrassed again. "I see," he said, looking away and sipping his coke.

Yoichi glanced at Taiga.

Taiga glanced at Yoichi.

Yoichi silently gestured at Natsumi and mouthed the words, "Is he?"

Taiga shrugged.

Natsumi continued to sip his coke, oblivious.

Yoichi mouthed, "I'm gonna ask him."

Taiga shook his head vigorously.

Yoichi waved him away and opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could say anything, Taiga clamped a hand over his face, muffling him.

Yoichi tried to pull Taiga's hand away. Taiga clamped his other hand on top of Yoichi's. They wrestled in silence for a few seconds, Yoichi trying to free his mouth while Taiga struggled to keep his hands in place. Despite the increasing violence of their tussle, Natsumi seemed unaware of what was taking place.

Finally, Taiga pulled his hands away with a disgusted cry, yelling, "Ew! You _licked_ me, dude!"

"Yeah, and I was gonna bite you if that didn't work!" Yoichi snapped. "You almost suffocated me!"

"Well, then, keep your trap shut!" Taiga snapped back.

They glared at each other. Natsumi looked between them, frowning.

"Guys?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Taiga said curtly.

At the same time, Yoichi asked, "Are you a virgin?"

The question was obviously lost on Natsumi, thanks to their overlapping sentences. Taiga punched Yoichi on the arm. Yoichi elbowed Taiga in the stomach, winding him.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Natsumi said. "From either of you. What?"

"Fuck, man!" Taiga moaned. "That hurt!" He clutched his midsection, wincing.

"I _said_ , are you a virgin?" Yoichi asked again, loud enough to be heard over Taiga's groans.

Natsumi blinked in surprise. His face turned crimson in a blush deeper than any they had seen from him all evening. Yoichi practically expected to see steam start shooting out of his ears.

"W-what? N-no! How could – why would – you don't – no!" Natsumi stammered, completely unconvincingly. "Why would you ask something like that?!"

"Yeah, Yoichi, _why_?" Taiga demanded, finally recovering enough to speak. He punctuated his sentence by trying to punch Yoichi in the balls. Fortunately, Yoichi managed to deflect his fist in time.

Yoichi shrugged. "Just curious. It's not a big deal." He snickered. "Be pretty funny if you were, though."

Natsumi looked concerned. "Funny?"

"Yoichi!" Taiga warned.

"Well, it would!" Yoichi insisted. "Come on! Mr Tall, Dark and Perfect, the big dreamy senpai we watched all the little campers crushing on for the past few years, a freakin' _virgin_? That'd be hilarious!"

He laughed and drank his beer. Neither Taiga nor Natsumi laughed with him.

"It's not any of our business either way," Taiga chided. He paused. "But even if you _were_ , it's nothing to be ashamed about, Natsumi."

"I know that," Natsumi said quietly.

"I was only _asking_ ," Yoichi complained.

"Only because you probably lost yours at, like, fifteen and were wanting to brag about it," Taiga said.

"I was not!" Yoichi protested.

Taiga snorted. "Sure."

"And besides, I was thirteen."

Taiga choked on his drink. _"Thirteen_?!" he cried.

"Yeah. So?"

"Dude! That is not cool! That's gross! That's, like, abuse or something!"

Yoichi shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal. I just didn't have enough money for cigarettes."

Taiga shook his head. _"Dude_ ..."

"Well, when did you lose _yours_ then, huh, Dynamite?" Yoichi snapped.

"None of your business," Taiga said primly.

"Still trying to talk Frogboy into popping your cherry, huh?" Yoichi said with a smile.

"Fuck you. Okay, you wanna know? Fine! Which time?"

Yoichi frowned. "What're you talking about? You only get one virginity, dumbass."

"No you don't."

"What the hell are you talking about? You lost your virginity twice?"

"Yeah. Once with a girl, once with a boy."

It was Yoichi's turn to choke on his drink.

"You do it with _girls_?" Yoichi cried, disgusted. "Now _that_ 's gross. Not to mention greedy."

"I've still slept with less people than you have, you biphobic jackass!" Taiga snapped. "Just because I like guys and girls doesn't mean I'll sleep with anyone! Not _everybody_ goes around humping the leg of whoever happens to cross their path," Taiga said, shooting Yoichi a meaningful look.

"Hey! I don't do that! You callin' me a slut?" Yoichi demanded. "And what the hell is a biophobic?!"

Taiga sighed. "No, Yoichi, I'm not. I'm just saying. Not everyone's as – um, liberated as you." He gestured toward Natsumi, who had been following this exchange with a bewildered look on his face. "Maybe Natsumi's just waiting for the right person. Maybe he's ace!"

Yoichi frowned, confused. "Like – like in volleyball?"

Taiga shook his head. "Not _an_ ace. _Ace._ Asexual, dumbass."

Yoichi looked no less confused.

"Someone who's not into boys or girls! Or anyone else!"

Yoichi scoffed. "No such thing. Everybody's into _someone_."

"Oh, come _on_ , dude! For a guy who's dating another guy, you are _so_ close-minded."

"Besides, he already said he's into Hunter! So he can't be ace-sexual!"

"You can want to be with someone romantically but not have sex with them!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Guys," Natsumi said.

"And some people are into sex but not romance!"

Yoichi snorted. "Yeah, I bet Frogboy was really happy when you suggested _that_ to him."

"Guys!"

"Not me, you idiot! But other people! It's called being aromantic, Yoichi, and it's a real thing!"

"You're just making up words now, Dynamite!"

"GUYS!"

"What?!" Yoichi and Taiga snapped in unison, turning to face Natsumi.

Natsumi sat quietly, waiting for them both to cool down from their argument.

Taiga cleared his throat. "Sorry, man," he said. "Got a little heated there."

"Apology accepted," Yoichi said haughtily.

"I was talking to Natsumi, you moron," Taiga spat back.

Yoichi opened his mouth, ready to resume their argument, when Natsumi cut in with, "I am."

They turned to look at him again.

"You are – what?" Taiga prompted.

"A virgin," Natsumi said simply. This time he made eye contact with them both and his blush had faded. "I've never done – you know. 'It'."

Having elicited this confession, Yoichi didn't seem to know what to do with the information. Taiga, on the other hand, started falling over himself to try and make Natsumi feel comfortable.

"Oh, well, that's – that's great!" he said nervously. "Really, really great! Congratulations!"

Yoichi's expression said he was wondering what the hell Taiga was talking about. Taiga's expression said he didn't know.

Natsumi frowned. "How is it great?" he asked.

"Uh ..."

"I mean, it's just the way things are," Natsumi clarified. "I've never really paid much attention to that side of life," he said sadly. "I've always been so busy, I guess I never really learned how to talk to, you know ..."

"Humans?" Yoichi prompted helpfully.

Natsumi gave him an unamused look. "People I'm interested in," he said.

Yoichi gave the matter some thought. "Well, if you're interested in Hunter, you're probably in luck. I doubt that guy has any more experience than you do."

Natsumi made a face. "Actually..." he said.

Neither Taiga nor Yoichi could keep the surprise off their faces. " _Hunter_?" Yoichi sputtered in disbelief. "Wow. Twinkerbell's got game. Never saw that one coming."

"Well, I don't know if he's actually done _it_ ," Natsumi explained. "But I can tell from our conversations that he's more – knowledgable about these things than I am."

"Is _that_ why you're so afraid to talk to him, Natsumi?" Taiga asked.

Natsumi looked pained. "Yes," he admitted. He sighed and looked down at his hands. "I know I sometimes look – foolish, I suppose. I have a tendency to do the wrong thing in social situations. Like earlier, with the milk. I _try_ to follow the rules! I always have. Follow the rules, and people will like you. They'll respect you. That's how it's supposed to work. But it turns out there are _secret_ rules, unwritten rules, and nobody ever explained them to me. And I guess I break them all the time. And when I do, I look stupid." He sighed again. "I don't want to look stupid in front of Hunter," he said quietly.

This speech dropped the room into silence. Neither Taiga nor Yoichi quite knew what to say. Both of them were mentally replaying the moments they'd made fun of Natsumi's awkwardness in the past, whether to his face or behind his back, secure in the knowledge that he wasn't even aware of their mockery. It was uncomfortable to realise they'd been wrong about that.

Suprisingly, it was Yoichi who spoke first.

"Look, man," he said, "we all do dumb stuff sometimes. And yeah, you can be a gigantic pain in the ass. But you – you're okay. You're a good dude." He cleared his throat and drained the rest of his beer in one go, as though to wash away the taste of being nice to Natsumi.

"What he said," Taiga added, jerking his thumb towards Yoichi. "Don't stress about it, man. Just be honest with Hunter. You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not."

Natsumi winced. "What if I make a fool of myself?" he asked.

"You'll survive," Taiga said. "And maybe you'll get a funny story out of it. Something you guys can laugh about in the future."

"Like the time Torch-head fell bare-assed out of a tree and knocked me unconscious," Yoichi added.

"Yeah, like – wait, when was this?" Taiga asked, turning to Yoichi.

"Our first date."

A resolute expression formed on Natsumi's face. "I'm going to call him," he said. He slapped his palms onto his thighs, determined. "I'm going to call him right now."

He stood up, turned to leave, then paused. He reached over and grabbed Taiga's beer bottle, obviously intending to take a sip for courage.

Yoichi grabbed it out of his hands. "I don't think that's a good idea, do you?" he said pointedly.

Natsumi sighed. "No. I suppose you're right." He squared his shoulders. "Okay! Here goes!"

He took his phone out of his pockets and began scrolling through his contact list. Then he realised both Taiga and Yoichi were sitting forward, watching him intently.

"Um," Natsumi said, "is there somewhere more private I could do this? You guys are putting me off."

"Oh! Uh, sure!" Taiga said, standing up. "Kitchen's through here. Follow me."

While Taiga led Natsumi away, Yoichi pulled out his phone and sent Hiro a message.

[what're you doin] he sent.

The reply came so quickly that Yoichi had to smile. Torch-head didn't believe in playing it cool.

[hey! nothin much. just some laundry. left it a little late and now i have nothing to wear!] A picture followed of Hiro grinning into the camera, the angle low enough to show his shoulders were tantalisingly bare.

[how's the boys' night going?] Hiro sent. Double-texting was something else Torch-head didn't worry about. Or triple-texting. Quadruple or higher, when he got going sometimes. [you bring enough cash for the strippers?]

[strippers gave me a freebie] Yoichi sent back. [kidding. not having as much fun as you and me had earlier] he added, followed by the eggplant emoji. It was definitely the one he used the most ever since Hiro had explained what it meant. [just hanging out with taiga and natsumi]

[natsumi's there too??!] Hiro sent back. [bahahahaha! how did he end up tagging along?]

[i invited him] Yoichi replied. [he was alone. felt kinda bad]

[awwwwwwww!!!! wolfboy DOES have a heart. you big softy]

[get your ass back here and you'll see how soft i am] Yoichi sent, followed by another couple of eggplants for good measure.

[not long to goooooo] Hiro replied. [can't wait to see you open your xmas present hehe ....]

The reference to gifts snapped Yoichi out of his flirty reverie and reminded him of the uncomfortable task ahead of him in the morning. Just what the hell was he supposed to get Torch-head? He hoped Natsumi and Taiga would have some good ideas, because he didn't have a clue.

Taiga returned while Yoichi was trying to think of a reply. "I think he'll be a while," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen. He saw what Yoichi was doing. "You texting Hiro?"

"Just saying hi," Yoichi said. He groaned. "What the _fuck_ am I gonna get him for Christmas?"

Taiga shrugged. "We'll worry about it tomorrow. You wanna play some _Shirtless Warriors_ while we wait for Natsumi?" He picked up a PX4 controller and offered it to Yoichi.

Yoichi took it. "Sure, why not? It's been a while since I kicked your ass."

Taiga snorted as he fired up the console. "'A while'? Try never."

"Hey, I've beaten you twice so far!"

"You un-paused the game while I was in the bathroom! That doesn't count!"

"No I didn't! You just forgot how much health you had."

"Uh huh. Sure."

Taiga punched Yoichi on the arm, smiling. Yoichi punched him back.

While they lingered over the character select screen, Taiga asked, "So, what made you invite Natsumi tonight?"

Yoichi glanced at Taiga. "You mind?"

"No, no! He's cool. Just wondering. You guys were never exactly close."

Yoichi shook his head. "Ugh. It was so pathetic. He was just sitting there in the dark back at camp, all by himself. I felt bad for him."

"Yikes. He still sore about his brother getting made scoutmaster?"

"I guess. He was always used to being Brokeback's right-hand man. Now Naoto's there, and you're there, and I've been helping out -"

Taiga snorted.

"- fuck you, I _have,"_ Yoichi insisted. "Sometimes. Anyway, it's like he doesn't know what to do with himself anymore."

"Well, maybe Hunter will give him something to focus his attention on," Taiga mused.

"Yeah, maybe," Yoichi said. He frowned at the TV screen. "You're picking Johnny Kang _again_?!"

"What's wrong with that? He's the best one!"

"Because you keep spamming his flying drop kick! That's why you always win! It's cheap as fuck!"

"It's totally legit! You just suck because your only strategy is to pick the character with the nicest abs!"

The argument escalated into a shoving match, which descended into a wrestling match on the floor. Taiga was pretty strong, but Yoichi had the weight advantage. He soon had Taiga pinned on the carpet and was sitting on his chest, Taiga's head clamped between his thighs. Taiga struggled but couldn't free himself.

"Get off me, man!" Taiga cried, squirming in the grip of Yoichi's thighs. "Your big butt's cutting off my breathing!"

"Not until you admit I am the Shirtless Warrior!" Yoichi pulled off his shirt and whirled it triumphantly over his head.

"Get bent!"

"Admit it!"

"Gnnn! Never!"

"Um – should I give you guys some privacy?"

Taiga and Yoichi glanced over to see Natsumi standing in the doorway, a bemused expression on his face.

"Just a difference of opinion," Yoichi explained.

"Hey, man," Taiga said casually, as though his face wasn't currently positioned between Yoichi's legs. "How did it go with Hunter?"

Natsumi sat down, giving the other boys an odd look. "Fine," he said stiffly. Then he sighed. "Well, no. I chickened out. He couldn't talk long, he was just about to leave for dinner with his parents. It wasn't a good time." He looked miserable again.

While Yoichi was distracted, Taiga made another attempt to throw him off. Yoichi readjusted his weight and pinned him once more.

"That sucks, man" Yoichi said. "Hey, Taiga and me were just about to play some _Shirtless Warriors_. You wanna take on the winner?"

Natsumi stared in silence at a shirtless Yoichi sitting astride Taiga in the middle of the living room floor.

"Um, you _are_ talking about a video game, right?" he asked nervously.

It had snowed heavily overnight.

Natsumi trudged through the drifts, which were already up to his ankles and still climbing. Camp Buddy was blanketed in a pristine coating of white. It was beautiful to look at, not so much fun to try and traverse.

He pulled his coat tighter around his slender frame as he made his way through the camp. He came across several footprints in the snow. Most of them were human-sized, though they were surrounded by numerous smaller paw-prints. Evidently Yoichi had been taking the pups out for their first experience of snowfall.

Natsumi followed the prints through the snow until he came across a man-sized figure emerging from the falling flakes. As he got closer he saw that it wasn't a human at all, but a snowman. It was the most muscular snowman Natsumi had ever seen in its life. Instead of the normal twig arms, it had a pair of muscular limbs sculped from snow, posed to flex its snow-biceps. Coal had been used to give it not only the usual facial features, but abs as well. Glancing further down, Natsumi noted that a large carrot had also been used, along with two more pieces of coal, to represent certain anatomical features most people didn't include on their snowmen.

He shook his head and smiled. Clearly Yoichi had been busy this morning.

Something smacked Natsumi on the side of the head, startling him out of his thoughts. Before he could react, another projectile smacked into his chest, spraying snow across him.

"What -" he said, surprised, and a third snowball caught him in the mouth.

"Bahahaaha! Yes! Right in the kisser!"

"Jeez, Yoichi! Not in the face! You could've hit him in the eye!"

"Bah, don't be such a sissy, Dynamite! He's fine!"

"Natsumi, are you okay?"

While Natsumi brushed snow off his face and clothing, Taiga and Yoichi came closer. Like Natsumi, they were bundled up in winter clothing, thick coats and woolly hats. Taiga looked concerned, but his expression changed when he saw Natsumi was laughing.

"Ha, good shot, Yoichi!" Natsumi laughed. "I should've seen that coming!"

Yoichi seemed surprised not to be getting scolded. "You're in a good mood," he said suspiciously.

Natsumi beamed happily. "I am!" he agreed. "I like your snowman!"

"We decided he's a snow _bro,"_ Taiga corrected.

Yoichi now seemed even more surprised. _"You_ like it? _You?!_ "

"Yes! It's very funny!"

"Okay, what gives? You're never this laid back. That stick up your butt finally snap or something?"

"Well, I had fun last night!" Natsumi's grin widened. "And guess what? Hunter called me back!"

"He did?" Taiga asked. "That's awesome!"

Natsumi grinned. "He said he could tell something was on my mind from the first phone call. He wanted to know if I was okay. And, well, I told him. Everything. About how I feel. And he said he likes me too! Isn't that _great_?!"

"Hey, that's fantastic!" Taiga said, clapping Natsumi on the shoulder.

"So, are you guys, like, a thing now?" Yoichi asked.

"Well, we're taking it slowly," Natsumi said. "The distance is still a big problem. But he wants to meet up when he's over for that business trip. And we stayed up all night talking." Natsumi yawned through his grin. He looked tired, but also the happiest Yoichi had seen him in a long time.

"You better get him something extra special today then," Taiga said. "Did you decide what you're gonna buy him?"

"I have a few ideas," Natsumi said, nodding. "Some drawing materials. A few books I know he likes. He's already got copies, but you can buy these really nice, fancy editions at this bookstore he told me about. I thought I could get him a couple of those."

"Sounds boring as hell," Yoichi said. "Twinkerbell will love it."

Natsumi chuckled. "What about you, Yoichi? Did you have any ideas about what you're going to get Hiro?"

Yoichi groaned and shook his head. "No. And I gotta think fast. He'll be coming home in a few days' time."

Taiga and Natsumi shared a glance. Yoichi caught it and frowned.

"What?" he asked. "What was that look about?"

Taiga seemed uncomfortable. "Um, Yoichi, are you sure Hiro's still gonna be able to make it home for Christmas?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't he be?"

Taiga gestured at the heavy snow covering their surroundings and continuing to fall.

"This snowstorm's been pretty bad," Natsumi explained. "There have already been a few serious traffic accidents in the capital. They're talking about closing off some of the roads."

Yoichi looked alarmed. "What? When was this?!"

"This morning," Natsumi said. "Didn't you see it on the news?"

"I don't watch that show. Too depressing." Yoichi frowned. "They really might close off the capital?" he asked.

"If the snow gets worse, yeah," Natsumi said. "It's happened in the past. I know Scoutmaster Yoshi always brings in extra supplies over the winter. Camp Buddy is quite remote, and they've been cut off before."

Yoichi pulled out his phone. "I gotta call Torch-head," he said, distracted, and wandered off to dial.

Taiga and Natsumi traded a worried look. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that," Natsumi said, wincing.

Taiga shook his head. "Nah. He needed to know. He's gotta be prepared for the possibility Hiro will be stuck in the capital over Christmas."

They watched Yoichi dial over and over again, getting increasingly frustrated as each call went to voicemail.

"No answer?" Taiga asked, feeling dumb to state the obvious.

Yoichi shook his head and called again. "I don't get it. Torch-head _always_ picks up on, like, the second ring."

"Maybe he can't answer right now," Taiga suggested. "He could be visiting his mom, right? They don't allow cell phones in some parts of the hospital."

"Maybe," Yoichi said, still staring at his phone. "It does have really bad signal around there."

"Why don't we go do some shopping, huh?" Taiga said, trying to take Yoichi's mind off the unanswered call. "Hiro will probably have called you back before we even get to the store."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, okay."

No sarcastic reply, no complaint about having to go shopping. Yoichi was clearly worried. He followed Taiga and Natsumi across the camp ground as they set off in the direction of the bus stop that would take them into town.

The snow continued to fall around them, thick and fast.

The shopping trip was a success. Natsumi picked up the books he'd been looking for, keepsake editions of some of Hunter's favourite novels, the ones he'd already reread enough times for the spines to start falling apart. Yoichi even picked up a cookery book for Hiro, though he was hardly paying attention when he purchased it. He kept calling Hiro every fifteen minutes, but the calls continued to go unanswered. He sent a volley of texts, but received no replies. He was getting increasingly concerned as the day went on.

Eager to distract him, Taiga suggested they get Hiro a video game. A new game would've been out of Yoichi's price range, but Taiga knew a second-hand store that was having a sale. In the end they managed to pick up cheap copies of a number of games Taiga thought Hiro would enjoy. Yoichi simply went with whatever Taiga suggested.

Finally, they rounded out Hiro's gifts with a small but expensive box of chocolates. "He won't be destroying his diet with these," Taiga said, "and they'll taste good enough that he won't mind there aren't too many of them."

Yoichi nodded, not even glancing up from his phone as he sent Hiro his fifteenth text. He grabbed the box without looking at it and went to pay.

"I hope Hiro's okay," Natsumi said, once Yoichi was out of earshot.

"Me too, buddy," Taiga said.

When Yoichi returned they decided to take a break from shopping and get some coffee. The coffee shop was packed, despite or perhaps because of the heavy snowfall outside. Yoichi and Taiga grabbed a table while Natsumi stood in line to place their orders.

The boys sat down at a table by the window.

"Still no answer?" Taiga asked.

Yoichi only shook his head, eyes still glued to the phone.

Taiga watched the snow falling on the heads of the shoppers in the street outside. Strange, he thought, how something so beautiful could also seem so ominous.

Natsumi joined them. He handed out the drinks and sat down. Taiga sipped his espresso and took a bite of his muffin, while Natsumi stirred sugar into his latte. Yoichi had ordered a hot chocolate topped with a mountain of whipped cream, yet it sat untouched.

"I wonder what I should write in Hunter's books?" Natsumi asked, trying to break the tense silence. He took one of the novels out and opened it to one of the blank pages at the front, pen poised to inscribe. "Any ideas, Yoichi?"

"Huh? What?" Yoichi asked, distracted. "Yeah, no thanks, I don't want any." He started typing another text.

Taiga and Natsumi shared a look.

Taiga took a breath. "Maybe -" he started to say.

Yoichi's phone started to ring. Startling him, it jumped out of his hands and almost landed in Natsumi's coffee. Yoichi grabbed it and answered it, placing it to his ear.

"Torch-head?!" he snarled. "Where the fuck have you been?! I was worried about – wait, what? Dude, I can't understand you."

Even over the hubbub of conversation from the other tables, Taiga could hear Hiro sobbing through the phone's speaker. He felt his stomach drop into his ankles.

"Hang on, I gotta take this somewhere more quiet," Yoichi said, and got up from the table.

He went and sat by himself at a table in a less occuppied corner of the coffee shop. He pressed his hand against his other ear to block out the remaining noise, but still all he could hear was Hiro sniffing and crying.

"Torch-head, what's wrong?" he asked.

He could hear Hiro trying to get himself under control. "I-I'm s-sorry," he said, "I couldn't call, I didn't e-even get your messages until a s-second ago, I wasn't even thinking -"

There was more, but the rest of the sentence dissolved into sobbing.

Yoichi took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Torch-head, listen to me," he said clearly. " _Breathe_. Okay? Just breathe. Take a few deep breaths. Don't try to speak for a minute."

He heard Hiro take a deep, shuddering breath through the phone. Then another. The third was slightly steadier. At last he seemed to get himself under control, though he still continued to sniffle.

"Better?" Yoichi asked.

"Y-yeah," Hiro said. "S-sorry."

"Okay. Now tell me what happened."

Hiro took another deep breath. "I-it's my mom," he said.

_Oh fuck_ , Yoichi thought. In his concern over the weather, he'd completely forgotten about _that_.

"Is she okay? I thought she was getting out today?!" Yoichi asked.

"S-she was," Hiro said. He breathed again, cleared his throat, and seemed finally to have regained some composure. "She has an infection. One of those ones you can pick up in hospital. It's not too bad, b-but they have to be really careful. My mom's immune system is pretty weak, with her c-condition and the t-t-treatment they give her. Even a small infection could be dangerous."

The last word was swallowed up in a stifled sob.

"They're gonna have to keep her in over Christmas," Hiro went on. "She needs to stay isolated and under observation. I'm not even allowed in to _see_ her."

"Fuck, Torch-head," Yoichi moaned. "That's so fucking shit. How is she? Is she in pain?"

"N-no, just tired. She sleeps a lot. B-but it means -" he cleared his throat, tried again, "it means I won't be able to make it home for Christmas."

Yoichi had known it was coming, but it still felt like being sucker punched in the gut.

"Of course," he said, trying to keep his own voice from breaking. "You gotta be there for your mom. Makes sense."

"I'm really s-s-s-sorry," Hiro said, starting to cry again.

"Torch-head, fuck that! You got nothin' to apologise for."

"I know, it's just -" Hiro stifled another sob. "Our f-first C-Christmas ..."

_Don't,_ Yoichi thought, squinting his eyes shut to keep his own emotions under control. _Please don't._

"Look," he said, "it's not a problem. I'll come to you. I'll catch a bus right now. I could be there tonight."

"Yoichi, no!" Hiro cried, alarmed. "Haven't you looked outside? It's snowing like crazy! It's too dangerous to travel!"

"I don't care! I'm coming!"

"Yoichi, _no!"_ Hiro cried again. He now sounded on the edge of hysteria. "It's even worse here, it's chaos! They've closed most of the roads already! I couldn't get to the hospital even if they _were_ gonna let me see my mom, and I live right beside it!"

"But -"

"Promise me you won't try to come. _Promise_ me!" Hiro insisted vehemently. "Please, Yoichi! I couldn't handle it if anything happened to you as well! P-please!"

"Okay, okay!" He sighed. "I promise."

Hiro breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. It sucks, I know, but we just gotta – oh, crap, here comes my mom's doctor. Sorry, I need to go."

"Huh? Oh, sure, I'll talk to you -"

But Hiro had already hung up.

"- later," Yoichi finished, speaking to a dead line.

He stared at his phone for a few seconds in shock, then put it back in his pocket.

Yoichi headed back toward Taiga and Natsumi's table. They were looking at him, identical expressions of worry on their faces.

"Bad news?" Taiga asked.

Yoichi stared out the window at the falling snow for a few seconds before answering. The flakes were whirling down thicker and faster than before, piling up against the windowsill before his eyes.

"Yeah," he said eventually. "Bad news."


	3. A January Miracle

It was always a sign of trouble when Yoshinori hadn't seen Yoichi for a couple of hours.

The scoutmaster trudged through the snow, pulling the collar of his padded jacket up tighter around his neck to ward off the cold. He knew he couldn't put this off any longer. The few times he'd tentatively broached the subject before, Yoichi had ignored his hints and simply glared out the window at the snow, as though he could cause it to melt through sheer force of will.

Now, however, it was time to lay things on the line. Christmas was a couple of days off. The freak snowstorm that had consumed the region showed no signs of fading away anytime soon. Hiro wasn't going to make it home for Christmas, and Yoshi certainly didn't intend to leave Yoichi by himself. The boy might not like it, but he would probably be glad of the company, even if he never admitted it.

Yoshi followed the paw prints through the camp. Wherever the pups were, Yoichi usually wasn't far behind. He passed the obscene snowman (now made more family friendly on his instructions, thankfully _before_ Sir Goro had laid eyes on it) and saw the tracks led up to the supply shed. He could hear barking inside, and as he got closer he could make out Yoichi's voice, too.

“Torch-head! Focus! And get your nose out of Twinkerbell's butt!” Yoichi was yelling.

Yoshi couldn't help but smile. While Yoichi had made some progress in training the pups, the process of getting there had been long and difficult. He sometimes wondered if Yoichi appreciated the irony of him trying to get a bunch of disobedient dogs to listen to instructions. Probably not.

“Come on, guys! We practised this! _Mush_!”

_Mush?_ Yoshi thought to himself. _What on Earth?_

He rounded the corner and entered the shed, and then he understood what Yoichi was up to.

The pups were roped together in some kind of crude harness, tied to each other in a row. Lacking proper materials, Yoichi had clearly had to improvise, cobbling the harness together from whatever came to hand. Yoshi thought at least part of it was made of Aiden's old skipping rope that he used for training sometimes. The harness itself was attached to a sled – a child's one, on which Yoichi sat somewhat awkwardly, as it was clearly much too small for him. Yoichi held the reigns of the harness in both hands and was whipping them up and down, yelling “Come on, guys! Mush! Ya! _Y_ a _!_ Yip-fuckin'-yip!”

Clearly, he still hadn't realised Yoshinori was there.

Yoshi cleared his throat.

Yoichi whirled round so quickly he almost fell off the sled. The expression of surprise on his face was comical, as though he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. It quickly turned to anger.

“W-what are you doing? _Spying_ on me?!” he snarled.

“No, Yoichi, I was just looking for you.” Yoshi gestured at the sled and the dogs harnessed to it. “Er, what is all this?”

“None of your business!” Yoichi snapped. He was red in the face, though Yoshinori began to suspect that it wasn't entirely because he'd been caught looking foolish.

“Yoichi,” he said suspiciously, “what are you up to here?”

“Nothing! Go away! I don't gotta answer to you!”

Suddenly, the penny dropped.

“Yoichi, are you planning to try and _sled_ your way to the capital?!”

The look on Yoichi's face was answer enough. And really, what else _could_ he be up to? Yoshi doubted he was intending to dress up as Santa Claus and distribute gifts to the local children.

“N-no!” Yoichi protested, making it perfectly clear Yoshi had got it right. “Of c-course not! What? What're you talking about? That's crazy!”

“Yes, Yoichi, it _is_ crazy,” Yoshi agreed. “And I absolutely forbid it! You are _not_ sledding to the capital!”

Yoichi stood up, angry, abandoning all pretence of innocence. “You're not the boss of me! I can do whatever the hell I want!”

Yoshi felt himself getting angry too. “Yoichi! Be reasonable! I know you miss Hiro, but this is ludicrous! You can't possibly think this is a good idea!”

“WELL WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!” Yoichi bellowed.

Yoshi was taken aback. In all of their arguments – of which, over the years, there had been many – he'd never seen an eruption from Yoichi quite on this scale. His eyes were wild and crazy.

“Yoichi, I -”

“It's got nothin' to do with you,” Yoichi cut him off, suddenly sullen again. He turned away and went back to the sled, fiddling with the harness, more to hide his face than because he was accomplishing anything significant.

“Yoichi,” Yoshi said quietly, “it's not safe. You could get hurt. Seriously hurt.”

Yoichi ignored him, keeping his back to Yoshinori, still fiddling with the harness.

“The _pups_ could get hurt,” Yoshinori said.

That hit home. Yoichi stopped what he was doing. He stared ahead at the pups. Mr Perfect was sitting obediently at attention, waiting for his next command. Torch-head Junior was trying to chew himself free of the skipping rope. Keichi, as usual, was asleep.

Only Twinkerbell crept closer to Yoichi. Timidly, the pup stretched out his neck and licked Yoichi's hand. Yoichi reached over and stroked the dog's ears, his eyes staring off into nothingness.

“He's alone,” Yoichi said quietly. His voice was choked with emotion. “He's all alone in that fucking apartment. His mom's not even there. He's all by himself in the city. At _Christmas_.”

Yoichi wiped the sleeve of his jacket across his eyes. It came away wet.

“I know,” Yoshi said gently. He walked over and placed his hand on Yoichi's shoulder. Even through the thick winter jacket, he could feel him trembling. “But Hiro wouldn't want anything to happen to you. It's terrible, but that's just the way things are.”

One by one, the other pups came over to Yoichi, nosing and licking him, whining as they sensed his distress. Last came Keichi, jerked awake by the tug of the harness, yawning as he padded over.

“Look,” Yoshinori said. “I can tell you're not in the mood to spend Christmas with the Nagira family this year. You don't know this, but Yuri recently installed wifi around the camp and set up a laptop for me. Why don't you borrow it, and spend the day with Hiro? I know it's not the same as seeing him in person, but at least you could talk to each other. What do you say?”

Yoichi didn't respond for a long time. Yoshinori tensed, wondering if he was going to be on the receiving end of another outburst. Instead, Yoichi stood up, turned to face him, and grabbed him in a hug. For a few seconds Yoshinori was too surprised to react. Then, tentatively, fearing he was going to be repelled again at any moment, Yoshinori put his arms around Yoichi's shoulders. Yoichi didn't shrug him off. They stood like that for a while.

“Thanks,” Yoichi said, his voice muffled against Yoshinori's shirt.

“O-okay,” Yoshinori said. He was still too stunned to say anything else.

Yoichi released him and stood back. He bent down and started untying the dogs from their harness.

Yoshinori's head was still reeling. Every time he thought he'd reached the end of the line with Yoichi, every time he thought he was never going to get through to him, the boy did something to show him his efforts weren't in vain. He reached across and patted Yoichi on the back.

Yoichi let him.

As Yoichi began working the skipping rope free of the sled, Yoshinori realised there was something else he still wanted to ask.

“Um, Yoichi, did you -”

“ _Yes_ , I stole a kid's sled,” Yoichi said. “I'll take it back. Sorry.”

“Oh. Okay. Er, good.”

Satisfied, Yoshinori turned and walked out, heading back toward the main office building. He'd done all he could.

The rest was up to Yoichi.

“Oh my god, Wolfboy!”

“What?”

“Oh my _god_!”

“ _What_?!”

“That is the ugliest sweater I've ever seen in my _life_! Haha, I love it!”

Yoichi was sitting cross-legged on his bed, the laptop resting on his knees.

“Don't let Brokeback's mom hear you call it ugly,” he said. “She knitted it specially for me.”

“Bahahahaha! It's hideous!”

“It's a Christmas sweater. That's the idea, Torch-head,” Yoichi said, with a smile.

The sweater had spent the last few years in the bottom of a box of various pieces of crap Brokeback had given Yoichi over the years. Stuff he would never use, but felt a stab of guilt every time he thought about throwing it in the trash. Yoshinori's mother had presented the sweater to Yoichi the first time he'd joined them for Christmas. He'd worn it that year, grudgingly, and then buried it at the bottom of the pile as soon as he got back to camp.

He'd thought Hiro would get a kick out of it. Seeing him smiling and laughing through the webcam was worth the humiliation.

“What even _is_ that?! Some kind of mutated penguin?”

“I think they're meant to be reindeer,” Yoichi said, looking down at his chest. “Fuck if I know.”

Hiro, too, was wearing a cosy-looking sweater, though it was more tasteful and less garish than Yoichi's. Behind him, Yoichi could see the apartment had been decorated for the season. It looked like something out of a Christmas card. Somehow that made the fact Hiro was sitting there alone all the harder to bear.

Hiro lifted a steaming cup to his lips and took a drink.

“What's that?” Yoichi asked. “Hot chocolate?”

“Low calorie!” Hiro protested.

“Relax, Torch-head. That's not what I meant. Looks good.”

“It's not bad,” Hiro said. “Needs marshmallows. But I don't wanna turn into one.”

“Pssh. So how was your day?”

“Good,” Hiro said, and was almost convincing. “I talked to my mom on the phone. She's doing well. I was able to send over some lunch for her, the nurses promised they'd make sure she gets it. I just made chicken this year, since, y'know, it's only the two of us. We're gonna wait to open our gifts when she gets out again.”

Hearing Hiro struggle to put a brave face on things made Yoichi's heart hurt. Normally, Torch-head didn't so much wear his heart on his sleeve as wave it on a flag above his head. At the first sign of difficulty he tended to pout, and whine, and complain, and Yoichi usually ended up having to tell him to get a grip. This time, seeing him try to spare Yoichi's feelings was worse.

“You already ate?” Yoichi asked.

“Nah. Not yet.” Hiro shrugged. “Not feeling very hungry,” he admitted sadly. “What about you?”

Yoichi held up a microwaveable burrito. “Gonna nuke this pretty soon,” he said.

Hiro stared. “ _That's_ what you're having for dinner? On Christmas _Day_?!”

Yoichi shrugged. “I can't cook like you.”

Hiro looked appalled. “That's – but that's – _Yoichi_!!”

“Relax. Brokeback promised to bring me some food over from his parents'.”

“Oh. Okay.” Hiro still looked sad. Seeing Yoichi's depressing little meal seemed to have cracked his facade. “I wish I was there to cook for you. You've never tasted my stuffing.”

“Well, you've tasted _my_ -”

“Yoichi!” Hiro scolded, but he was smiling again.

Yoichi chuckled. “Torch-head, we'll have plenty of time together. Soon as this snow lets up I'll be on my way to the capital. We're only missing out on one day.”

“I know,” Hiro said. “But it's a _special_ day.”

For most of Yoichi's life, that hadn't been the case. His mom hadn't exactly made a fuss about the holidays. When he was living on the streets, Christmas usually just meant colder weather to endure. Spending it with the Brokebacks was an ordeal of a different kind, fending off the scoutmaster's well-meaning relatives as they tried to coax him out of his shell and make him forget about the fact that he was basically a pathetic charity case.

This year was supposed to be different.

Yoichi realised both he and Hiro had been sitting in silence for some time now, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Hey,” he said, “you wanna watch me unwrap your present?”

Hiro frowned. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Yoichi lifted up his Christmas sweater and flashed his abs.

Hiro suddenly grinned. “Well, it's better than looking at that ugly sweater,” he joked. He set down his mug of hot chocolate and pulled his own sweater over his head.

Yoichi stared at Hiro's exposed torso and eager face, so close yet so many miles away.

“Merry Christmas, Torch-head,” he said.

“Merry Christmas, Wolfboy.”

“Happy New Year, dick.”

“Happy New Year, asshole.”

Natsumi looked between Taiga and Yoichi, confused.

“What?” Yoichi asked him.

“I really don't understand your friendship,” Natsumi said, smiling sheepishly. “Oh, and Happy New Year!”

They were inside Cabin One. Yoichi was on the floor, playing with the pups, as Taiga and Natsumi closed the door behind them. Taiga had to push quite hard against a blast of wind that threatened to bring a blizzard of snow inside as well.

“Happy New Year,” Yoichi replied absently, while using one of his socks to play tug-of-war with Torch-head Junior. “What're you guys doing here?”

“Scoutmaster Yoshi sent out the call,” Taiga said. “Asked if we could help clear some of the pathways of snow, now the weather's finally starting to let up a little.”

Yoichi glanced at Natsumi. “You too?” he asked.

Natsumi smiled. “I volunteered,” he said.

In the past, Yoichi would've made some crack at Natsumi's expense, irritated by his eager beaver attitude. However, he felt no such impulse this time. It had been so long since Natsumi had reported for duty, Yoichi actually felt sort of glad to see it. It seemed talking to Hunter had helped him a lot.

“Gimme a sec to get ready,” Yoichi said.

“You're going to _help_?!” Natsumi exclaimed, surprised.

“Wow, we didn't even have to threaten you,” Taiga said.

“Eh, I could use a little exercise. Brokeback brought like half a turkey back from his folks'.”

“Please don't talk about food,” Taiga said, wincing and putting a hand on his stomach. “After the past couple of days, I don't think I can eat again for a _month_.”

As soon as Yoichi had gotten into his winter gear, the three of them braved the outside once more. A thick blanket of snow still lay over everything, occasionally swirled into the air by a bitter gust of wind, but at least it had stopped falling. They went to the supply shed, grabbed snow shovels and set to work clearing the paths around the camp-grounds.

“You make any New Year's resolutions?” Taiga asked Yoichi as they shovelled.

Yoichi shook his head. “Nah. What's to improve?”

Taiga snorted.

“What about you?” Yoichi asked.

“A few,” Taiga admitted. “I wanna try to meditate a little each day. Help me keep things in check up here,” he added, tapping his temple.

“Sheesh. You get any more zen, Dynamite, you're gonna become a monk.”

“Well, that and try to eat fewer cheeseburgers. How about you, Natsumi?”

“I've already started mine,” Natsumi said with a smile, shovelling energetically.

“That's it? 'Do more chores'?” Yoichi asked. “What about getting Hunter to finally punch your v-card?”

“Yoichi!” Taiga scolded.

But Natsumi merely laughed good naturedly. “We'll have to see about that,” he said, and continued shovelling.

“Good job, boys!” a voice called across the camp-grounds. “Hard at work, pulling together as a team! That's the Camp Buddy spirit!”

They turned to see Scoutmaster Yoshi walking towards them through the snow. He wasn't alone.

Yoichi was aware of Natsumi suddenly stiffening beside him.

“I thought you could use a little help,” Yoshi said, oblivious to the change in atmosphere. “And Naoto here graciously offered his services!”

Natsumi's older brother waved a greeting. Yoichi had to admit, even bundled into his padded winter jacket and hat, Naoto was a sight to see. Tall, well-built with a perfectly sculpted physique and an even more perfect face, Naoto stood out even among the other guys at Camp Buddy. Yoichi, who was always willing to give another hunk the respect they were due, had been as impressed as everyone else when the elder Hamasaki brother first showed up.

Of course, things had changed a little since then.

“Little bro!” Naoto exclaimed, catching sight of Natsumi. “I can't believe it, you're actually here! Finally got tired of slacking off, huh?” he added, laughing.

Natsumi smiled thinly, but Yoichi saw his grip tighten on the shaft of the snow shovel.

“Yoshi here kept telling me about all of the amazing work you did around the camp, but it's like I said to him, I haven't noticed much of it lately! We were starting to think you'd abandoned us here!”

It was said in a light, joking tone, but Yoichi wasn't fooled. Nor was Natsumi. Yoichi saw him flinch slightly under each sentence like it was a blow.

“Oh, Natsumi was just taking a well-earned break!” Yoshi cried heartily. “And now he's back, ready to help out again! Isn't that right, Natsumi?”

Natsumi nodded, clearly relieved that Scoutmaster Yoshi had stood up for him. “Yes, sir,” he said quietly.

“That's the spirit! Now, I have to get to a meeting with Sir Goro, but I'll make sure to stop by the kitchen and ask Aiden to prepare some hot drinks for you all when you're done! Thanks again boys!”

Brokeback actually tipped Yoichi a discreet wink as he was walking off. Yoichi shook his head to himself. A few months back, Yoichi had taken Brokeback aside and explained the situation between Natsumi and his brother. Yoshinori had apologised to Natsumi for taking his hard work for granted, and for overlooking him when it came time to choose a new scoutmaster. While that conversation seemed to have smoothed things over between Natsumi and Brokeback, the situation with Naoto still remained tense. Evidently, Brokeback thought that getting them all to work together clearing the snow would somehow resolve things. It was a classic Brokeback move: simple, well-meaning, and utterly useless.

When Brokeback left them, Naoto instantly tried to take charge.

“Well!” he said, clapping his hands together. “Looks like you boys have made a start, but there's still a long way to go!”

“Actually, sir, we're almost done working here,” Taiga interjected. “Why don't I help you start clearing one of the other paths? Then Yoichi and Natsumi can finish this one.”

Yoichi said a silent prayer of thanks for Taiga's peacekeeping efforts. Unfortunately, Naoto wasn't taking the hint.

“Hmmm,” Naoto said, inspecting the path with his hands on his hips. “No, I don't think so. Looks like there's still a lot to do here. Why, this section is barely clear at all!”

He was pointing, naturally, to the part Natsumi had been working on.

“I haven't finished yet,” Natsumi said quietly.

“Finished? You've barely started!” Naoto said with a chuckle. He reached across and grabbed the shovel from Natsumi's hands. “Here, let me show you how it's done.”

While Naoto gave Natsumi a detailed lesson on the complexities of shovelling show, Taiga and Yoichi stood to one side and watched them.

“Y'know,” Yoichi said out of the corner of his mouth, “we could hit him on the head with our shovels and bury him under a snowdrift. They might not find him till spring.”

Taiga snorted air through his nostrils in a stifled laugh. “Don't tempt me,” he said. They observed Natsumi wilting under Naoto's instruction, his shoulders starting to slump, the happiness that had been on his face before starting to fade. “It kills me seeing him get brow-beaten like this,” Taiga whispered. “Why doesn't he just stand up to him?”

Yoichi shook his head. “'Cause he's Natsumi,” he replied. He started to move forward. “ _I'm_ gonna say something,” Yoichi said, determined.

Taiga caught his arm, holding him back. “Dude, wait,” he said. “It's not our place. And knowing you, you'll probably just make things worse. Besides, he's a _scoutmaster_. Piss him off and he could make things really difficult for you, living here.”

Yoichi shook him off. “Fine. I'll keep quiet.” _For now_ , he added mentally.

When Naoto's lecture was over, the boys resumed shovelling. Naoto made them re-do the section they had already started, pausing every once in a while to correct Natsumi's shovelling technique, or advise him on the best way to keep warm during cold weather. Taiga took one for the team, drawing Naoto aside and asking him sycophantic questions about the time he went hiking in the Himalayas, giving Yoichi a chance to check on Natsumi.

“Yo, you okay?” Yoichi asked.

Natsumi merely nodded in response. His eyes were fixed on the ground, his lips a thin line. He was shovelling snow angrily. Each time Naoto had interfered, Natsumi's shovelling had become more aggressive, stabbing the shovel into the snow and flinging it erratically to one side. This just prompted Naoto to be even more condescending.

Taiga could only distract Naoto for so long. Eventually he was back.

“Woah, woah, woah, little bro!” Naoto cried. “Hold up! You're throwing snow back onto the part we just cleared! Watch what you're doing there!”

The annoying thing was, Naoto was right. Natsumi's erratic shovelling _had_ scattered some snow back onto the cleared part of the path. What Naoto didn't seem to realise was that he was the one causing Natsumi to lose control.

_Or maybe he does realise,_ Yoichi thought.

Naoto reached out and grabbed the shovel.

“Maybe you should just leave this to me,” Naoto said.

But Natsumi refused to let go.

“I can do it,” he said.

Naoto tugged on the shaft. “You're messing it up!” he cried. When Natsumi refused to release the shaft, Naoto tugged again, harder. “C'mon! Let go! You're just making a mess of things like you always do!”

Natsumi's eyes blazed with hurt and indignation.

“Hey, Naoto?” Yoichi asked, placing himself between the two brothers.

Naoto looked down at him, breaking off from locking eyes with Natsumi. “What is it, Yoichi?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

Naoto beamed, always happy to have his opinion sought. “Sure! What's on your mind?”

Yoichi cleared his throat. “Okay. Here goes: Why don't you shut the fuck up?”

It seemed to take Naoto's brain several seconds to process what Yoichi had said to him. The four of them stood in the white silence of the snowy camp-ground for the duration of this time, as the happy smile faded from Naoto's face, replaced by a look of confused outrage.

“Ex _cuse_ me?!” Naoto cried. “ _What_ did you just say to me?!”

“Oh, maybe you didn't hear me,” Yoichi said in a friendly tone. He cleared his throat again, more ostentatiously. “I _said_ , 'Why – don't – you – just – shut – the – fuck – up?'” he repeated, enunciating each word as though talking to a deaf old man.

Naoto's mouth worked, struggling to come up with a response. Yoichi maintained the same friendly smile on his face.

“How _dare_ you talk to me like that?!” Naoto finally blurted. “I'm a _scoutmaster_ here!”

His tone was so genuinely offended, and so similar to the one Yoichi had heard Natsumi use in the past, that Yoichi burst out laughing. He couldn't help it.

“Newsflash, Mr Thinks He's Perfect: I'm Yoichi,” Yoichi said. “I talk to _everyone_ that way. But you? You actually _deserve_ it. Why don't you give Natsumi a fucking break? What, does it give you some kind of an ego hard-on to pick on him all the time?”

“I'm just trying to -”

“I know _exactly_ what you're doing,” Yoichi cut in, his tone suddenly aggressive. “Let me guess. Life didn't quite work out the way you thought it would, huh? All those years mommy and daddy spent telling you how special you were, with your baby brother following you around, idolising you, never able to live up to your example? But then you get out into the _real_ world, and things aren't quite so easy any more, are they? You fuck up sometimes just like the rest of us. So what do you do about it? Do you accept it, and move on, and try to do better? Or do you go back home and start making your little brother feel like shit just so you can feel good about yourself by comparison?”

Naoto's expression turned from shock to fury, and Yoichi knew he'd struck a nerve.

“I know all _about_ people like you,” Yoichi snarled, jabbing his finger into Naoto's chest. “You fucked up your own life so you go around taking it out on your family. Well, he's _our_ family,” Yoichi said, pointing at Natsumi. “And you're done using him as your emotional punching bag.”

Suddenly Taiga was beside them, making a belated attempt to calm things down.

“Okay, guys, wait!” he cried, trying to step between Yoichi and Naoto. “I think we just all need to cool down a little here.”

“I'm perfectly fucking cool,” Yoichi said, still locking eyes with Naoto.

“You,” Naoto spat, “are a foul-mouthed troublemaker. And if my brother has been hanging out with the likes of you, I'm not surprised he's become such a disappointment.”

Taiga placed his hand on Yoichi's chest and shoved him apart from Naoto before he could respond.

“Look, Naoto, sir,” Taiga said, trying to remain calm, “I'm sorry for how he expressed it, but Yoichi has a point. You're being kind of harsh to Natsumi. He's really hard working, and he always tries his best. We all really like him here at Camp Buddy. We're his friends!”

“Friends?” Naoto scoffed. “Don't make me laugh. What you boys don't understand is that my little brother doesn't have _friends_. He has people that he tries to get close to, either because he thinks they'll be useful to him or because he thinks they'll make him look good by comparison. And no offence, but I don't think a delinquent and a ne'er do well like the two of you would be very useful to him.”

Taiga's hands balled into fists. “Who are you calling a delinquent?!” he demanded, losing his temper.

“Yeah! And what the fuck is a nerdy well?!” Yoichi added.

Naoto laughed scornfully. “You think I don't know about you two?” he asked. “You,” he said, pointing at Taiga, “the camp bully who terrorised everyone for two summers, and whose actions almost got us closed down. And you,” he went on, pointing at Yoichi, “the thug from the streets who suckered Yoshinori into taking him on as a charity case. You're probably only here because you're casing the joint! Natsumi told me all _about_ the two of you.”

“I never said any of that!” Natsumi exclaimed, shocked. “Don't put those words in my mouth, Naoto!”

“Don't worry, Natsumi. We believe you,” Taiga said.

“Eh, I've said worse about him,” Yoichi added.

“Yoichi!” Taiga cried.

“What? I have. He's a giant pain in the ass. Always has been, always will be. But I gotta say,” he said, sizing Naoto up, “now that I've met the jackass he's been modelling himself on all these years, I'm amazed he turned out as well as he did.”

Naoto took a step forward, murder in his eyes.

“Oh, try it, please,” Yoichi said, grinning at him. “I'm _begging_ you.”

Naoto had a few inches on Yoichi in height and at least twenty pounds on him in terms of muscle mass. Yet there was something about the glint in Yoichi's eye, above the wolfish grin showing off slightly too many teeth, that made him reconsider.

Naoto took a step back.

“Guys, please,” Natsumi said quietly. “I know you're trying to help, but -”

“Don't act so innocent!” Naoto yelled, rounding on Natsumi. “I know you put them up to this! What, you were so angry that you didn't get made a scoutmaster, so you went around turning everyone against me?!”

“What? No, I didn't say anything, I promise!” Natsumi cried.

“We've got eyes, dude,” Yoichi said to Naoto. “We can see for ourselves what a piece of shit you are.”

That did it. Naoto finally snapped, swinging his fists. There was a moment of confusion. Yoichi ducked back to avoid the blow, raising his own fist in return. Natsumi started forward with a cry, desperate to intervene. Naoto's furious eyes were locked on Yoichi as he threw a punch.

And Taiga, caught in the middle, took it straight to the face.

Partly from the force of the blow, partly because of the slippery surface he was standing on, Taiga's legs went out from under him. He ended up on his back in the snow.

“WHAT IS THE _MEANING_ OF THIS?!” a voice bellowed across the camp-grounds.

The three of them who were still standing turned toward the source of the shout. Such a ferocious, commanding tone could only have come from the lungs of Sir Goro, Yoichi knew.

And yet when he saw who it was, he realised he was wrong.

Scoutmaster Yoshinori was standing several yards away. Four steaming mugs of what looked like hot chocolate were held in his gloved hands. His face was bright red with anger. Yoichi had never seen such a look of fury in the mild-mannered scoutmaster's eyes before. If he wasn't witnessing it for himself, he wouldn't have thought old Brokeback was even capable of such anger.

“Taiga!” Natsumi cried, running over and breaking them out of their frozen tableau. He knelt down beside Taiga in the snow. “Are you all right?”

Taiga groaned and looked slightly dazed. “Uhhhh, I think so,” he said. “I need some ice,” he moaned. Then he realised he was lying in snow. “Oh, look, that's handy,” he said, rather giddy, and started piling snow onto his face.

Naoto looked between Taiga lying in the snow and Yoshi advancing on him with a face like thunder. “Yoshi, I – I'm sorry, I didn't – oh, god -”

“Natsumi,” Yoshinori said, ignoring Naoto's stammering, “take Taiga inside and have Aiden check him over. You know where the first aid supplies are in the kitchen.”

“Yes, sir,” Natsumi said. He bent down to pick Taiga up.

Naoto moved forward. “Wait, let me help -”

“ _Leave him_ ,” Yoshinori commanded. Naoto stepped back as if scalded. Yoshinori helped Natsumi get Taiga to his feet.

“Taiga, are you okay?” Yoshinori asked. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Taiga's eyes slowly focused on the scoutmaster's hand. “Uh, you're wearing mittens.”

Yoshinori nodded, satisfied. “Good enough. Natsumi, take him inside.”

Natsumi led him off, Taiga's arm slung over his shoulder. “Just once,” Yoichi heard him say dazedly, “I'd like to have a year here that _doesn't_ end with me getting hit in the face.”

When Natsumi and Taiga were out of earshot, Naoto began trying to explain.

“Yoshi, I'm so sorry,” he babbled, “I just lost control for a second, but you didn't see what happened!” He pointed at Yoichi. “He threatened me! I was just defending -”

“Save it,” Yoshinori said, cutting him off curtly. Yoichi had never heard the scoutmaster use such an authoritative tone before. “You _struck_ one of my scouts,” Yoshi said with finality, staring Naoto down. “That's it. You're done here.”

Naoto didn't seem able to take in what Yoshi was saying. “But -”

“You're _done_ here,” Yoshinori repeated. “Your employment is terminated with immediate effect. Leave the premises at once, or you will be escorted off site. And if you're very lucky, Mr Akatora might choose not to press charges.”

Naoto wanted to say more, but there was no arguing with Yoshinori's tone. Yoichi saw him give up, shoulders slumping as the reality of what happened sank in. Without saying anything else, Naoto walked away from them both. He disappeared across the camp-ground, not looking back.

Yoichi and Yoshinori watched him go in silence.

Yoichi waited, wondering how much of the confrontation Brokeback had witnessed, and how much of the blame he would get for provoking it.

“Look,” Yoichi said uncomfortably, “I don't know what you saw back there -”

“I saw you standing up for your friend,” Yoshinori said, looking Yoichi square in the eye. “And I've never been more proud of you.”

Yoichi stared, utterly at a loss for words.

“Here, drink this before it gets cold,” Yoshinori said, handing Yoichi a hot chocolate.

Yoichi took it, still slightly stunned.

“Come on. Let's go inside and check on Taiga.”

Yoichi followed him across the freshly-cleared path, heading for the kitchens.

He sipped his hot chocolate.

It tasted pretty good.

“You're kidding,” Hiro said.

“Nope.”

“He _hit_ him?!”

“Yup.”

Hiro's amber eyes had grown even more enormous than usual as Yoichi related his story via webcam. The orange-haired boy shook his head in wonder. “Wow,” was all he could say.

Yoichi was lying on his bed, Brokeback's laptop propped up on his stomach. Ever since Christmas he'd been allowed to use it as much as he wanted, though Sir Goro had shown the occasional disapproving look.

“And Sir Yoshi fired him? Just like that?” Hiro asked.

Yoichi nodded. “Yep. You shoulda seen him, he was amazing. Never thought old Brokeback would actually grow a pair.”

Hiro sighed. “I missed all the drama!” he complained. “How's Taiga doing?”

“Not bad,” Yoichi said. “He didn't have a confusion or anything.”

Hiro giggled. “A _concussion_ , Wolfboy.”

“Whatever. Brokeback gave him a couple of days off to recover.”

“How about Natsumi?”

“I dunno,” Yoichi admitted. “He was kinda – weird afterwards. Sorta quiet. And I haven't seen him since.”

“Well, Naoto _is_ still his brother,” Hiro pointed out. “It's gotta be an uncomfortable situation for him.”

“Just 'cause someone's family doesn't mean they're not a dick,” Yoichi said.

“I guess,” Hiro said.

“You're just lucky your mom's so nice. How _is_ your mom?”

Hiro brightened. “She's great! Say hi to Yoichi, mom!” Hiro called over his shoulder. He turned his webcam, pointing it toward the couch.

Hina Akiba was sitting there, wrapped in a blanket and holding a steaming mug of tea. She smiled and waved. “Hi, Yoichi!” she said.

Yoichi gave a little wave before Hiro turned the camera back to himself. “She's looking really well,” he said.

“Yoichi says you're a total babe, mom!” Hiro called.

“Darn right!” Yoichi heard Hina call back with a laugh.

Yoichi chuckled. “Good to see you happy again, Torch-head,” he said.

Hiro beamed at him. “It's just a relief to have her home.” He lowered his voice, not wanting his mother to overhear as he added: “It still sucks about Christmas, but you'll visit soon, right?”

“Soon as the snow lets up,” Yoichi promised. “I'll be there.”

Hiro broke into a grin. “Can't wait!”

They spent the rest of the call chatting about the things they would do when they met up again. Finally Hiro had to leave to start preparing dinner. They exchanged goodbyes and ended the call.

Yoichi found himself at something of a loose end. It was still too cold to play with the pups outside. He thought about checking in on Taiga, and sent him a text to see what he was up to. It took a while for him to reply, and when it came the message simply said [can't, dude, busy rn].

Slightly annoyed by this abrupt dismissal, Yoichi realised there was really only one person left he could hang out with.

_Probably should've checked in on him before now anyway_ , he thought, getting up off the bed and searching out his winter clothing.

Natsumi's house was within walking distance of Camp Buddy, and though Yoichi had passed it many times he'd never actually been inside. As he approached the door he felt a moment of unease. What was he going to say to him? They'd never hung out before, just the two of them, without Hiro or Taiga around to act as a buffer. Would Natsumi be _mad_ at him for getting his brother fired, even though he'd been trying to help?  
 _Fuck it_ , Yoichi thought. _Let's find out._

He rang the doorbell and waited impatiently for someone to answer.

Belatedly, he realised he didn't even know if Naoto still lived at home with Natsumi and his parents. What if he answered? Were they going to have round two of their fight right here on the doorstep?

Steeling himself for battle, Yoichi was even more surprised when the door was not by Naoto or Natsumi, but by Taiga.

Taiga looked just as surprised to see him there.

“Dynamite? What the hell are you doing here?” Yoichi couldn't keep a note of accusation out of his voice. Had Taiga been avoiding him to hang out with _Natsumi_? It didn't seem possible.

“Oh, crap,” Taiga said, dismayed.

“What the fuck kind of greeting is _that_?!” Yoichi demanded.

Taiga sighed. “Sorry, man,” he said. He glanced over his shoulder, back inside the house. “I suppose you better come in,” he said reluctantly.

Yoichi was not used to feeling insecure. Normally he didn't give much of a crap what most people thought of him. Yet now he was feeling that unfamiliar sensation for the first time. _Is this how Torch-head feels all the time?_ he wondered.

Taiga stepped aside, allowing Yoichi to enter. Yoichi kicked the snow off his boots and walked through.

He was momentarily distracted from his own confusion as he got a look at the inside of Natsumi's parents house. Pictures covered every available surface of the walls and every piece of shelf space. Every tabletop, every inch above the fireplace was covered in pictures.

All of them were pictures of Naoto.

Pictures of him as a kid. A teenager. A baby, too, Yoichi assumed, though the chubby-cheeked infant was impossible to recognise as the hunky twenty-something Yoichi had actually met. Pictures of his graduations from high school and college. Pictures of Naoto with friends, with various sporting teams he'd been a part of. Pictures of Naoto at several famous geographical locations on his travels around the world. A lot of pictures of Naoto with his proud, smiling parents standing on either side of him.

And not a single photograph of Natsumi was anywhere to be found.

“Fuck,” Yoichi breathed, staring around at the overwhelming collage of Naoto.

“I know, right?” Taiga whispered, joining him in the living room. “Freaked me out the first time, too.”

“No wonder the dude has issues,” Yoichi said.

Taiga nodded. “Come on,” he said, “the others are in the kitchen.”

_Others?_ Yoichi thought.

He had no choice but to follow.

“Sorry, guys,” Taiga said as he led the way into the kitchen, “our secret's out.”

Yoichi had expected to find Natsumi there. He had _not_ expected to find Keitaro sitting beside him at the kitchen table. Both boys looked up in surprise as Yoichi entered.

“Okay, what the _fuck_ ,” Yoichi cried, unable to stop himself from sounding as hurt as he felt. “Do you assholes all hang out without me or something?!”

“Oh, no, it's nothing like that!” Keitaro protested.

“We _couldn't_ invite you, Yoichi,” Natsumi explained. “We're talking _about_ you!”

Yoichi glared at him. Taiga groaned.

“Come on, man, don't say it like _that_ ,” Taiga said. “That sounds terrible!”

Yoichi extended his glare to cover each of them in turn. “Somebody explain what the fuck is going on here,” he said angrily.

Natsumi stood up. “Let me,” he said.

Taiga and Keitaro started to object, but Natsumi waved them off.

“Please, I got this,” he said. He turned to Yoichi. “I asked for them both to come here, because I wanted their help.” He took a deep breath. “So I could thank you.”

Yoichi frowned, still suspicious. “Thank me?”

Natsumi stepped closer. He put his hands on Yoichi's shoulders and looked earnestly at him. “Yoichi, _yes_. No one has ever stood up for me like that before. Especially not to Naoto. _Never_.”

Yoichi felt himself growing embarrassed under Natsumi's frankness. “Oh. Uh. Sure. No big deal.”

“It _is_ a big deal,” Natsumi insisted. “I'll never forget it. I only wish I'd had the courage to stand up to him myself before then.”

Yoichi coughed. He felt his face starting to burn. “Yeah, well, it's not easy,” he said gruffly. “Y'know. Families.” He coughed again. “You – okay?” he asked.

Natsumi nodded. “I am. Thanks to you.”

“He's not making trouble for you at home, right?” Yoichi asked.

Natsumi actually laughed. “He's actually been too embarrassed to even show his face around here since it happened,” he said. “He lives at his apartment. He's only called a few times to talk to my parents on the phone. Apparently he told them he's thinking of quitting his job as a scoutmaster. It's not quite challenging enough, they said.” Natsumi had a small smile of satisfaction on his face as he said this.

Yoichi laughed scornfully. “I bet they ate that right up.”

“Actually, they were quite disappointed,” Natsumi said. “Hamasakis don't quit, my father always says.”

Yoichi stepped back, wanting to get away from Natsumi's earnest look of thanks and his hands on his shoulders. His gratitude was even harder to bear than his normal disapproval.

“What's all this got to do with me?” Yoichi asked.

“Well, you're responsible for getting Naoto off my back,” Natsumi explained. “And I wanted to thank you.”

“Cash or card?” Yoichi said, only half-joking.

Natsumi chuckled. “We actually had something else in mind,” he said.

“It was Natsumi's idea,” Keitaro interjected. “He's the one who thought of it.”

“Yeah, and he's the one who's spent the last few days getting it all organised,” Taiga said. “We just helped with the grunt work. He's the brains behind it.”

“We just didn't want to say anything to you until we were sure everything was ready,” Keitaro added.

Yoichi looked at them all in turn. “Okay. So. Somebody wanna tell me what the hell you're all talking about?”

“Well,” Natsumi said, “we all felt really bad that you and Hiro didn't get to spend Christmas together. And then I had an idea ...”

The snow was finally melting.

Hiro walked through the streets of the capital, doing his best not to soak his trainers in the muddy puddles of slush. There was still a thick coating of snow on most of the trees and buildings, but the roads and footpaths were finally clear.

Even though he'd been waiting for this since what seemed like forever, the sight brought him no happiness. Yoichi was supposed to be here.

Instead, Hiro could barely get him to return his calls.

Texts went unanswered.

Even Keitaro was unusually quiet. Hiro had finally plucked up the courage to ask his best friend if he knew why Yoichi was being so weird. Keitaro had said something about it being nothing to worry about, and then claimed he had to end the call.

Was that it?

Was it over already?

Had all of his friends moved on without him?

Had Yoichi found someone else, and none of them knew how to tell him?

Hiro knew he was being crazy. He _always_ knew when he was being crazy. Knowing never helped. It had only been a few days since the snow started melting. Yeah, Yoichi had said he'd be right there, but things didn't always work out that way. Something must've come up.

His cell phone rang in his pocket. In his eagerness to answer it, Hiro almost dropped the two bags of shopping he was carrying in each hand. He fumbled in his haste, but finally managed to get it out of his pocket.

His heart sank a little when he saw it was his mom calling, not Yoichi. He felt a moment of guilt for even thinking that – he should be glad his mom was still able to call him!

Still …

“Hey, mom,” Hiro said into the phone.

“I'm sorry sweetie, I just noticed we're also running low on milk,” she said.

Hiro frowned. “We are? I just bought some yesterday!”

“You did? Oh, yes, of course you did! I – ah, I dropped the carton, I'm afraid! Most of it went all over the floor. Could you pick up another one?”

“Sure. You need anything else?”

“Eggs! We need eggs! And butter! And – um – a newspaper.”

Something was very weird. “Mom? Are you feeling okay?”

She laughed nervously. “Yes, honey, I'm fine, I promise. Just a little scatterbrained. I'm sorry I've been sending you all over the city on errands this morning.”

“That's okay. You sure there's nothing -”

There was some kind of commotion from the other end of the line. Hiro thought he heard whispered voices.

“Mom? What was that? Did something fall over?”

“It's nothing honey! Just the neighbours at the door! I have to run! Love you, bye!”

“Love y-”

She'd already hung up.

_Jeez,_ Hiro thought, _now even my own mom can't get away from me quick enough?_

Hiro sighed and changed direction, heading back the way he'd come to pick up the things his mom had requested. _What a crappy Christmas_ , he thought. _And a lousy New Year._

He decided to stop feeling sorry for himself. He knew he had good friends. They wouldn't just ditch him. He knew Yoichi loved him. If something was stopping them all from getting in touch for a few days, Hiro knew there had to be a good reason for it. A treacherous little voice in his heart kept trying to tell otherwise. Summoning up a mental version of Yoichi's voice, Hiro told it to go and fuck itself.

By the time he had picked up the final groceries, he was almost on the point of being overburdened. The middle aged woman working the till in the grocery store gave him a slightly concerned look as she handed him his bags.

“You gonna be okay with all that, kid?” she asked.

“Yep!” Hiro grunted, hoisting the bags. “Just don't think I'll be able to fast travel!”

The woman gave him a strange look as he walked out of the store.

He made his way back along the street toward his mom's apartment, plodding along at a slow but steady pace. His stomach growled, and Hiro started thinking of all the things he could make for lunch. Maybe, if his mom was feeling up to it, they could do a little baking later. Eating Christmas dinner solo, alone in the apartment, had robbed the meal of most of its pleasure, though Hiro _was_ at least proud of himself for not giving into the temptation to eat his feelings by stuffing his face with junk food.

Finally, the apartment building was in sight.

As Hiro made his way along the stretch toward home, he heard a dog barking. He smiled to himself. He'd never really considered himself a dog person before meeting Yoichi, but Yuki's pups had definitely won him over. Yeah, they could be smelly and loud and annoying sometimes, but so could Yoichi. They were also really cute.

Just like Yoichi.

The barking continued. _Weird_ , Hiro thought to himself. _That almost sounds like one of the pups._

It was his imagination, probably. He missed Yoichi so much he was hearing things.

A dog came running along the street toward him. As it got closer, Hiro realised it also _looked_ a lot like one of the pups.

The dog came to a stop in front of him and sat back on its haunches, panting, head tilted to one side.

Hiro stared at it.

It couldn't be.

“Mr … Mr Perfect?” Hiro asked, not daring to believe.

The dog barked.

Then Hiro noticed something attached to the dog's collar. It looked like an envelope.

Hiro set down his bags of shopping on a nearby bench and approached the dog warily. He was a little scared of being bitten. Sure, it _looked_ like Mr Perfect, but what if it wasn't? It could be a strange dog. It might attack him when he got too close.

Yet the dog seemed perfectly calm and composed as Hiro tentatively reached out and removed the envelope.

He looked up and down the street. There was no one else around.

“What _is_ this?” he asked the dog.

The dog merely looked up at him, panting.

Hiro opened the envelope. Inside was a piece of paper with two words written on it in block capitals: FOLLOW ME.

The dog barked and trotted off down the street. Confused, Hiro decided to follow it. He glanced behind him to keep an eye on his abandoned shopping, but there was no one else around to steal it.

The dog led him to another bench opposite the front door to his apartment building. There it stopped, waiting expectantly as Hiro caught up.

There was a stone on the bench. Another envelope was weighed down beneath it. Written on it was: OPEN ME.

Smiling but confused, Hiro opened the envelope.

Another piece of paper inside.

He unfolded it.

On it were the words: LOOK OUT!

Hiro frowned. “Huh?” he said to the dog. “What does tha -”

A snowball hit him in the face.

Hiro staggered back, spluttering through a mouthful of slushy snow. Another snowball hit him in the side of the head, and another in the chest. None of them were hard enough to hurt, but the sudden wet cold shocked him. He whirled around, trying to clean snow out of his eyes and losing all sense of direction as more and more snowballs hit him all over his body. He could hear the dog barking happily as it danced around him.

Finally, the assault stopped. Hiro was able to gather his wits. Wiping snow out of his eyes and spitting stray flakes out of his mouth, Hiro turned.

Yoichi was standing in the street behind him. He was smirking and tossing a snowball from hand to hand. He was wearing the ugly Christmas sweater.

“Hey, Torch-head,” he said. “Merry January.”

Hiro's mouth worked. No sound came out. His brain was filled with static. He couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't move.

Then, of its own volition, his body was propelling him along the street. He leapt into Yoichi's arms, wrapping his arms around Yoichi's neck and his legs around Yoichi's waist. Yoichi's strong arms caught him and held him easily, one hand on the small of his back, the other supporting his ass. They kissed, melting snow running down Hiro's face and onto Yoichi's, cold against the warmth of their skin.

Mr Perfect ran in circles around them, barking with excitement.

Their lips parted. Hiro's amber eyes stared into Yoichi's violet ones, as if not able to take in the fact that he was actually _here_.

Hiro released his leg-hold around Yoichi's waist. Yoichi kept his arms around him.

“Um,” Hiro said, “you can let me go now.”

“Not gonna happen,” Yoichi said, and kissed him again.

Hand-in-hand, they walked back to pick up Hiro's groceries. Yoichi was able to carry most of it by himself, leaving Hiro with only a few smaller packages. Mr Perfect picked up a carrier bag in his mouth without even being asked and trotted off with it.

Hiro kept looking over at Yoichi, as if to make sure he was still there.

“So that's why you weren't answering your phone,” he said with a smile.

“Yep. Didn't want to blow the surprise.”

“And I guess that's why my mom kept sending me all over the city this morning. So I wouldn't see you arrive.”

“Hey, you're pretty smart, Torch-head. You've got it all figured out.”

They took the elevator up to Hiro's apartment.

There was something about the smug look on Yoichi's face that made Hiro suspicious.

“What are you smiling about?” Hiro asked as the elevator doors opened.

“Nothin',” Yoichi said.

“Come on!”

“Okay. I'm just thinking about the look on your face.”

“Heh, when I saw you? I must've looked pretty surprised.”

“Yeah, you were, but I'm talking about the look that'll be on your face in about three seconds.”

Hiro frowned as he unlocked the door to his apartment.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

The door opened.

_“MERRY CHRISTMAS, HIRO!”_

Hiro staggered back and almost collapsed in the hallway as the chorus of voices erupted from his apartment.

Yoichi caught him and supported him as he stared into his apartment, his face pale and his eyes wide with shock.

Everyone was there.

_Everyone_.

All of them crammed into his mom's tiny apartment.

Keitaro, Taiga, Natsumi. From the screen of the phone Natsumi was holding up, Hiro could see Hunter's face. Bro Aiden was there, Miss Yuri, Scoutmaster Yoshi, even Sir Goro. Seto and Felix, Eduard and Lee. And standing on either side of his mom's wheelchair were his grandmother, his aunt and two of his cousins. Everyone was wearing Christmas sweaters, as though competing to out-do each other in whose could be the ugliest and most garish. The tree and decorations, which Hiro had sadly put away a few days ago, were now back up. The kitchen table was covered with food and drink, including a gorgeous looking roast turkey that had to be Aiden's work.

Everyone was holding glasses which they'd raised in Hiro's honour in time with their cheer as he opened the apartment door.

It was too much.

It was all too much.

Hiro burst into tears. He collapsed against Yoichi's shirt, sobbing helplessly, completely overcome with the emotions he'd been trying to suppress for the past few weeks. Yoichi held him and stroked his hair as the party-goers looked on with smiling sympathy.

“He's just a little overwhelmed,” Yoichi told everyone, to a chorus of “awwws” from most of those assembled.

Hiro's friends broke off from the group and came over, giving him reassuring pats on the shoulder. Hiro grabbed Keitaro in a hug, then moved on to Natsumi, back to Keitaro, then Taiga, before grabbing everyone into a blubbering, weeping mess of a group hug, by which point Keitaro was in tears as well.

Yoichi's eyes met Natsumi's over the heads of the shorter boys.

Yoichi mouthed a silent “thank you” to him.

Natsumi nodded back.

Two hours later and the party was in full swing.

The apartment wasn't big enough to hold everyone at once, so the festivities had spilled out into the hallways. Neighbours came out to see what all the commotion was and, on being offered something to drink and some of Aiden's amazing food, decided to join in.

Hiro worked the room, spending time with all of his guests. He never left Yoichi's side, keeping a possessive arm around the older boy's waist at all times, as though everything would dissolve like a beautiful dream if they didn't remain in constant contact. For Yoichi, the difficulty was not ripping Hiro's clothes off and getting down to it right in front of the assembled guests.

“You really had no idea?” Keitaro was asking.

“None at all!” Hiro said with a grin. “You guys had me completely fooled! I thought you were all ghosting me!”

“Well, we didn't wanna give the game away,” Taiga said.

“I was so scared I was going to say something and ruin it!” Keitaro said.

“I can't believe you guys did all this for me,” Hiro said, his eyes starting to tear up again. “It's the most wonderful thing ever.”

“Thank Natsumi!” Keitaro said. “He's the one who organised it all!”

“Oh, I didn't do much,” Natsumi said modestly. “It was the scoutmasters who drove us here, and Sir Aiden who did most of the cooking, along with your grandmother.”

“Dude, it was a logistical _nightmare_ getting everyone here,” Taiga insisted. “We never coulda done it without you.”

“Yeah, who knew you being a pain in the ass would pay off eventually?” Yoichi said with a smirk.

Hiro swatted him playfully. “Thank you, Natsumi,” he said earnestly. “From the bottom of my heart. You're amazing.”

Natsumi blushed, but took the praise.

“Okay, enough mushy stuff!” Yoichi announced. “I'm still hungry! Let's EAT!”

The boys descended on the food table for a third time. Hiro was already pretty stuffed, but the buffet was too good to resist. As he piled his latest plate high with Aiden's turkey and his grandmother's baking, he paused to glance around the room at the people gathered there, people he loved with every ounce of his being.

Eduard and Lee were setting up a karaoke machine, arguing over their choice of duet. There was Sir Yoshi, looking slightly terrified as Hiro's aunt felt his biceps, eyes pleading with Aiden for rescue. The other scoutmaster seemed too entertained to step in anytime soon. Seto had fired up Hiro's PX4 and was currently playing Miss Yuri at _Shirtless Warriors_. To Hiro's surprise, Yuri seemed to be winning. Felix wandered over and asked Hiro if it would be okay to open up one of the other 'wings' of the apartment now that there were so many guests. Hiro had to explain to him that his apartment didn't have 'wings', what you saw was what you got. Felix looked slightly alarmed by his news. While chatting to Hunter on Natsumi's phone, Hiro saw his mom was engrossed in a conversation with Sir Goro, blushing and laughing girlishly as the camp owner leaned over to whisper something in her ear. _That_ was concerning.

“Enjoying the food, Hiro dear?” his grandma asked, coming over and petting him on the face.

“Ugh, it's too good,” Hiro said, shoving another cookie in his mouth and patting his stomach. “You killed me, grandma. I'm dead.”

“Poor boy. I suppose you don't want any pie then?”

“There's _pie?!”_ Hiro cried, excited.

At midnight the scoutmasters began rounding up the guests, making preparations to leave. Hiro's apartment wasn't big enough for anyone but Yoichi to stay over, and they would have to get going if they were going to make it back to Camp Buddy before dawn.

Yoichi took charge of seeing the guests out.

“Is Hiro okay?” Keitaro asked, concerned.

“He just overdid it a little,” Yoichi said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. Behind him, Hiro lay on the couch with his pants unbuttoned, groaning and massaging his swollen stomach. He gave a weak little wave as he saw the other campers preparing to leave.

“Well, look after him,” Keitaro said. “And thanks for having us. It was really great to see everybody again.”

“Night, Frogboy. Thanks for coming. You too, Dynamite.”

“Later, man.”

Yoichi ushered them out the door. Last to go were the scoutmasters. Buttcheeks gave him a slap on the back. Brokeback patted his shoulder. Even old Goro gave him a respectful nod of the head on his way out.

Yoichi closed the door behind them, leaving him alone in the apartment with Hiro – and his mom.

Hina yawned and looked around at the wreckage of the party. “Well, I don't know about you boys, but I'm beat,” she said. “I think we can leave tidying up until the morning, don't you?”

Hiro merely groaned from the couch.

“Sure thing, Mrs Akiba,” Yoichi said. “I'll take care of it.”

“Oh, you're a sweetheart, Yoichi dear,” Hina said, wheeling her chair over. “And thank you.”

“Don't thank me, it was Natsumi -”

“ _Thank_ you,” Hina said again. To Yoichi's surprise the stood up, a little unsteadily, to pat him on the shoulder and give him a quick motherly peck on the cheek. “For everything,” she added, glancing toward her food-comatose son on the couch.

Yoichi nodded.

Hina sat back down in her chair and wheeled herself off towards her bedroom. “That Mr Nomoru is quite the charmer,” she said. “He told me the most entertaining stories about you all!”

Yoichi blinked. Did she mean _Goro_?!

Hina yawned again. “Did you see what Hiro got me for Christmas?” she asked, picking up a box from the coffee table. “Noise-cancelling headphones. For when I stay in the hospital. It can get quite noisy in there at night, sometimes, and I have difficulty sleeping. But when I'm wearing these, I can't hear anything at all! _Anything_. At _all_ ,” she repeated for emphasis.

Yoichi blinked again. “Um. That's cool?”

“I think I'll try them out tonight,” she said, tipping him a wink.

_“Mommmm!”_ Hiro groaned from the couch. “Jeez!”

With a teasing laugh, Hina wheeled herself off into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Slightly scared, Yoichi joined Hiro on the couch. Hiro lifted his legs, let Yoichi sit down, then threw them over Yoichi's lap. He groaned again.

“Ughhhhhh, I'm such a pig,” he moaned. “Why didn't you stop meeeee.”

“'Cause if I tried I woulda lost a finger,” Yoichi said with a chuckle. “You want me to rub your belly?”

Hiro nodded. Yoichi slipped a hand under Hiro's shirt and gently massaged his smooth stomach. It was definitely a lot leaner than it had been the last time they'd seen each other, but it was also currently full of Christmas food. Hiro groaned with pleasure.

“You're good at this,” he sighed.

“Well, I gotta do it for the dogs sometimes. They have no self control either.”

Hiro snickered. “Shut up.”

When Hiro was suitably relaxed, Yoichi reached down beside the couch and picked something up. He placed it on Hiro's chest, careful not to touch his stomach.

Hiro looked at the gift-wrapped box. “What's this?” he asked.

Yoichi gave him a 'Really?' look. “Well, it ain't an Easter egg,” he said.

“You got me a present?” Hiro asked.

“It's Christmas!”

“It's January, Wolfboy.”

“Well, it's _pretend_ Christmas. Of course I got you a gift.”

“The party wasn't the gift?”

“Kinda. The party was my gift from Natsumi. It's complicated. Just open the damn box, Torch-head.”

Hiro hesitated. He was clearly eager to open the box, but something was holding him back.

“What's wrong?” Yoichi asked. “Too small?”

Hiro shook his head. “It isn't that. It's just, um ...”

“Yeah?”

“Well, you know. With everything that happened. My mom being sick. And the weather. And you not coming. And then when you _did_ come, it was a surprise, so I didn't know you'd be here ...”

“Yeah, so …?”

Hiro looked nervous. “I – um – I didn't actually have time – to – get you – anything ...”

He trailed off, waiting to see Yoichi's reaction.

Yoichi stared at him.

“You're kidding me,” he said.

“Yoichi, I'm really sorry -”

“You're _kidding_ me!”

“I'll go tomorrow, I'll buy you something amazing, I swear - ”

“All that worrying I did about finding you the perfect gift! All that time I spent asking Taiga and Natsumi to help me! All that _shopping_! And you _forgot?!”_

“Yoichi, please!”

“No, that's it!” Yoichi stood up abruptly. “I'm outta here! Maybe I can still catch Frogboy on the elevator!”

He stormed off out of the apartment. Hiro stared after him, distraught, as the door swung closed behind him.

Just before it clicked shut, Yoichi's hand shot out and held it open again. He poked his head around the door and looked at Hiro with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips.

“Torch-head, come on,” he said. “You seriously think I give a fuck?”

Hiro collapsed back onto the sofa with relief as Yoichi came back into the apartment, laughing.

“Dude, don't _do_ that to me!” Hiro cried. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

Yoichi laughed harder. “Sorry, man, but I couldn't resist,” he said. “That was the best expression I've seen on your face in, oh, the last couple of hours, at least.”

Hiro swatted him. “You're a mean boy,” he said.

“A mean boy who remembered to get his boyfriend a gift for Christmas,” Yoichi pointed out with a grin.

“Gah! Are you gonna use that on me all the time now?!”

“Pretty much,” Yoichi said.

“Hmph.”

Yoichi picked up Hiro's gift and held in front of his eyes. “Torch-head, stuff like this? It doesn't matter to me. I only bought you something 'cause I knew you'd pout if I didn't.”

“Hmph,” Hiro said again.

Yoichi leaned in close. Hiro could feel his breath on his neck.

“I've got _you,”_ Yoichi whispered. “I don't need anything else.”

Hiro glanced over. His sulky expression softened.

“I'm sorry I forgot,” he said honestly.

“That's okay. Just remember it the next time _I_ do something dumb,” Yoichi said.

Hiro grinned. “Deal.”

He settled back into the couch. Yoichi put his arm around him. Hiro snuggled in.

“I can't believe everyone really came here tonight,” he said, yawning.

“I know,” Yoichi said. “It's a Christmas miracle.”

“It's January.”

“Well, a January miracle, then.”

“God bless us, every one!” Hiro yawned.

“Torch-head?”

“Hmmm?”

“Go to sleep.”

“Mmmm.”

They did.

**The End**


End file.
